What will come will come
by Kaysta Moony
Summary: CHAPT 5Fifth year fic written before OotP...when the time comes and Harry has to face his enemy for the last time, what will he choose to do? Includes Quidditch, dementors, wolves, unicorns, animagus training...
1. A Creature Stirs in the Forbidden Forest

_**Chapter 1: Creatures and Visions**_

The pack ran as one, side by side, their coats gleaming by the silver light of the moon. Not a creature risked get in their way. When they ran a powerful force crackled in the air, especially with the huge male leading the hunt. Their galloping slowed down to a steady canter as the alpha male tilted his muzzle upwards and sniffed at a scent lingering in the air. All eleven wolves slowed to a steady trot, their large paws padded silently against the soft ground.

One of them growled low suddenly, gaining the attention from the rest of the pack.

_"Silvanus, it is not far off, but...something else is here, the scent is unfamiliar to me."_

By now all the wolves had come to a halt, lifting their muzzles in the breeze to try and identify the new smell. Another wolf stepped out to join the other; it was a beautiful she-wolf, the alpha female and Silvanus' mate. Her coat was a light grey, with specks of dark fur; her body was long and elegant. The fur on her face was light grey with a white and grey mask surrounding her eyes and muzzle, which lead down her chest as well. Her ears were tipped with black and her eyes were a striking, intelligent yellow, framed by small black patches.

_"I agree with Bellator, something is different. There is an unusual feel to the forest - immense power, unlike any other creature that resides here." _

Other wolves growled in agreement, looking towards their leader for guidance. Some looked agitated; the pack rarely encountered rival animals.

Silvanus, the alpha male, lifted his tail high, stopping to turn back to the pack.

He was a very powerful and wise wolf; he had remarkable speed, endurance and strength. No wolf or intelligent creature would challenge him; he could overcome a challenger in an instant. His coat was unusual - it was midnight black with a grey under belly, which reached across his chest and on his lower muzzle, his head was black, with a light grey, almost white mask and his eyes were an unusual bright blue. He was by far the largest wolf, his back and legs were long, and when he moved, strong muscle shifted under his fur. His jaw was the most threatening part of him, it was very powerful and if he curled his lip the long, sharp canines could be seen.

His eyes surveyed his pack before speaking.

_"I also feel this power you speak of, the scent is familiar, but there is a strange distinction to it. This is not something to be hunted - a great purity surrounds it. Virago, Bellator, come with me," _he turned to a brown speckled wolf amongst the pack, "_Saltatio, you must lead the hunt - but not here, go back the way we came and seek out something different...we will return shortly."_

The wolf that had first spoken and Silvanus' mate broke away from the others to stand alongside him. The other male, Saltatio, turned and lead the pack away.

Silvanus spoke again,_ "Come with me, we will find this creature and make certain of its business here."_

He led them away from the direction the rest of the pack had gone: very, very deep into the forest. They picked up speed until they were steadily cantering through plants, leaping over fallen trees and dodging thorn bushes with ease. It was very dark, and it kept getting darker until it was almost pitch black, but the wolves had no problem finding their way through the undergrowth, the moon gave them guidance.

Silvanus could now pinpoint the creature's exact location from the scent; it was very strong and unique.

He slowed down to a walk, then stopped moving and looked down.

He was looking down at a ten-foot deep ditch where water had once flowed. It continued for miles, and stretched across forty feet before the ground rose again opposite Silvanus. The walls of the ditch where lit by a strange, bright light that was the only thing to be seen in the blackness.

The sound of Virago and Bellator approaching made him turn away from his finding; their movements unsure, curious and submissive.

Virago came further forward to look deeper into the ditch, then turned to her mate once she had made the inspection.

_"Silvanus, I do not understand: the smell is both familiar and unfamiliar...do you know what it could be?"_

The male kept silent, all he did was turn away from his mate and walk back the way he came. He then turned suddenly and galloped towards the clearing.

_"Silvanus, no!"_ cried Virago.

He leapt off the edge and soared through the air, until he landed with a soft thud on the ground below, a cloud of dust rising around him.

From where he was he could see that the light was coming from a huge hole in the side of the ditch wall, just below where the other wolves were standing: he edged silently closer.

Just as he was a few feet from the source of light, a wave of courage over took him, it struck at his heart and made him stand tall; he lifted his head high, and walked into the gap.

He waited for his eyes to adjust to the brightness, and then he saw.

Two huge Unicorns were lying down side by side, both facing him, their bright eyes fixed upon him. They had long, flowing manes; their tails also longer than that of an ordinary unicorn.

They rose as Silvanus entered, showing muscular legs and chests, their hooves were a silver colour and the single horn on their forehead was also gleaming silver.

They showed no fear as they walked towards him, but Silvanus raised his tail and a growl rumbled inside of him, an instinctive warning signal he could not surpress.

_"Be still, young one. We are of no threat. Follow us, we have been expecting your arrival," _one of them said.

Courage washed over him once more, the feeling reassured him and he followed as they turned away.

As they led him deeper, Silvanus looked around and realised that the large fissure was much bigger inside then it looked from the outside. The two unicorns walked either side of him, and seemed to glide across the ground. Green plants were growing on the walls and grass was sprouting from the ground, lilies and daisies littered the floor, as well as what looked like various flower petals.

The power that he had sensed earlier was not coming directly from the unicorns. Indeed, they themselves were powerful in their own right - but Silvanus had come into contact with many a unicorn in his life. They and the wolves had a certain understanding...they respected each others strength of will.

The two either side of him halted, lowered their magnificent heads and bowed.

Silvanus sought out the target of their respect.

The courage again filled him and bright light pierced his eyes, but he could still make out the huge white Unicorn lying down on a patch of healthy green grass - his instincts warned him that the creature in front of him was not simply a unicorn.

The creature nodded at the two standing next to him, and they left.

_"I welcome you, Silvanus. Formositas and Castimonia have informed you that I have been awaiting your arrival for some time now." _

She stood. Silvanus stepped back respectfully, giving her more room to move. He watched her intently and noticed as she stood that she was not entirely unicorn. Gigantic wings stretched from her smooth shoulders, they could barely reach their full length inside the cave. Each had pure white feathers covering them and as she moved the light shifted; the feathers glittered and shone.

She was larger than Formositas and Castimonia, her mane was very long and rolled into curls just below her knees. Her tail also rolled into smooth curls at the ends, and finished just below her fetlock - the two floated on the floor but gathered no dust nor dirt. Her eyes were bright blue, intelligent and intense.

Her body was pure white, and radiated a bright glow that was almost a pale blue in colour. She seemed able to control this glow as when he had come near, she extinguished it almost completely; but so there was still a light touch of it floating around her.

She was truly the most beautiful thing Silvanus had ever seen.

_"I shall begin by introduction: I am Deapius, horse goddess of purity and light. The two unicorns that brought you here are Formositas and Castimonia. And these are Virago and Bellator?" _

He looked around, only to see the two standing behind him, looking somewhat confused and dazed. They seemed to know it was Silvanus that she wanted to speak with, and only him, but they remained close by nonetheless.

Silvanus felt strong and fearless in her presence, he could tell from her scent that she was of no threat to him; he could also tell that she was very eloquent and held her position of prominence well.

He bowed his head low, knowing he need not introduce himself, for she knew who he was.

When he raised his eye to her again he spoke the only question he could think to ask:

_"Why have you brought me here?"_

She took a moment before answering, she seemed to be lost in a distant world, a great sadness dulled her eyes, but when she looked onto Silvanus again he could see determination shining in the deep, blue depths.

_"I have been troubled by the events that have occurred, and will occur here. Great evil resides in this world, and it will not stop until it has ripped out the hearts of everything good and poisoned it with malevolence. It has not touched you or your family, but when the time comes everything and everyone will be affected._

_"I have called for you because you are the last remaining descendant of Sophos, the wisest and greatest wolf that ever lived, worshipped by other wolves and respected by humans of his time. He was known for fighting in defence for the good of this world. Back then there were more good creatures in this world than there ever were bad...but times have changed._

_"When Sophos was young he met a female wolf, she later produced one pup...a son. What he discovered soon after was that she was a werewolf, she had conceived and given birth while in wolf form and had no recollection of ever doing so. The pup was deformed - it looked like a normal wolf, but it had the eyes of human, the senses and heart of a human. Its eyes were blue, following his mother, he could only smell like a human and he had the sight and hearing of one. Despite all this Sophos raised him, the pup was very vulnerable in the wild, not being able to hunt very well, but he survived. He even went on to have pups of his own, which eventually led to your great-grand father, then your grand father, father, and eventually: you."_

Silvanus was rarely shocked by events, but this shook him. He was about to question what this meant when she spoke again:

_"This means that you have a special connection - more special than any other wolf- to the world of wizards and witches. Sophos did many great things, every generation since him has done the same: protecting the light from those who have black hearts and dark souls. It is now your turn to do what is your birth purpose."_

Silvanus stood tall.

_"What must I do?"_

........x........

The orange streaks spreading across the sky over the houses of Privet Drive indicated that a new day had started. A boy sat on his windowsill gazing at the rising sun, not really seeing anything at all.

If anyone were to take any interest in the dark haired boy living at number 4 Privet Drive they would notice the deep purple bags under his eyes. They would notice the pallor of his skin that stood in stark contrast to his jet-black hair. But if anyone were to really look at the fifteen year old boy, it would not be the skin or the bags that they would find heart-rending; it would be the look in his eyes at that moment. It wasn't a look that a just fifteen year old should have on his birthday. The once bright, emerald green eyes were dull and full of uncertain grief.

Harry James Potter stared silently out the open window, deep in his thoughts. The cold early morning breeze flew through his window caressing his face lightly, cooling his cheeks.

Glancing up, he saw a shape silhouetted against the rising sun; it was a bird, a swallow. One thought came to him as he watched the bird soar effortlessly through the sky: Freedom. Freedom was one of many things he could not be given, at his aunt and uncles house he was kept away from the outside world. He did not have the freedom to go about the wizarding world unnoticed. He did not even have freedom while he slept. Graphic nightmares of the Triwizard Tournament, visions of the torture and brutal murder of innocent muggles haunted him.

Movement in the corner of his eye broke off his reverie; he looked up and saw a different bird flying towards the house. This bird was not a sparrow; it was an owl. Harry slid off the sill and opened the window wider, allowing the owl more room to enter. The beautiful white bird soared through on snowy wings with practiced ease, landing soundly on Harry's bed.

He walked over to her as she hooted affectionately, and gave her a friendly scratch on the head.

She had dropped a package as she had landed and he picked it up, it was long and rectangle shape. There was also a brief letter from Hermione wishing him a Happy Birthday, they had been told by the Headmaster to only write brief letters to each other, for the risk of the owls being intercepted. He opened the package and came to a belt, it looked like leather, but Harry knew from years of potions and herbology lessons that it was dragon hide. It was dark brown and felt very smooth, and on closer inspection Harry noted a long thin holder where his right thigh would be. He looked at the tag on the buckle:

_"Amazingly crafted, hand-made wand holder. Are you forever trying to find a place to keep your wand? Well here is your solution! Your wand will always be at hand with this, when put on it adjusts to fit the size of the bearer. It is also able, irremovable (for anyone other then the owner), invisible when worn, and feather light, you will_ _hardly know your wearing it! Tell your friends......."_

Harry put on the belt, watching as it shrunk to fit his form. He lifted the loose floorboard and took out his wand, taking a few minutes to look at it.

_Strange, _he thought, _that something so small and plain can release as much power as it does._

He rubbed his hands over it noting each and every dent, scratch and rough bit of wood that he had come to know so well over the years. He slipped his wand into the long holder on his right watching as it also shrunk to fit. The label was right, as soon as he put it on all the weight seemed to appear. Hedwig hooted from the bed in approval.

"So, what do you think?" His voice sounded raspy and dry, like someone who had not uttered a word for weeks.

Tapping on the window made him look up. There were two owls he didn't recognise and Pig, he let them in and before the tiny owl could screech and scream at the top of his lungs, Harry reached out and grabbed the creature with reflexes born from his seeker training. They had all been carrying packages and letters, Harry opened from the other owls first, deciding to leave Pig until the last.

It was a short letter from Sirius.

_**Dear Harry,**_

**_I'm sorry this can only be brief, I just wanted to make sure I wished you a happy birthday and that you got a decent present from me._ _I hope it helps you feel closer to your parents._**

_**Snuffles **_

Feeling his spirits rise slightly at the short note, Harry opened the package, and his heart leapt.

It was at least a dozen or more pictures of his mother and father, young Sirius and Remus, he noted with satisfaction that Pettigrew didn't seem to be in any of them. Harry took in every detail of them, smiling slightly at the shining faces looking back at him; they looked so...happy, so oblivious to what their fate was.

He moved onto the next mystery owl's package. It wasn't as big, about five inches long and one inch wide; this also came with a short letter. It was from Hagrid, who also said happy birthday and told him all was well wherever he was.

Harry drew out a three inch, white, curved, and sharply pointed object with a small hole at the wider end. It was a young Hungarian Ridgeback tooth. The letter also said that it was charmed to bring luck to who ever it was given to.

_Oh good, _thought Harry dryly_, I need just about as much luck as I can get._

He also pulled out a long silver chain; it was very thin and had a clasp on one end, a necklace. He put the chain through the hole at the of the tooth and fastened it around his neck. It rested just below his collar bone.

Last of all, Harry came to Pig's package. Ron's present was a tiny Snitch, about half the size of the real one. He said in the letter that Harry could practice in his room, it would be good practice and would give him something to keep him occupied. There was also a supply of home made cakes from Mrs Weasley.

Harry smiled slightly as he imagined Mrs. Weasley rummaging about the kitchen making them for him.

He picked up a quill and some parchment, and proceeded to write brief thank you letters to each person. He sent Hedwig off and told her to stay away for as long as she wanted, he would have no use for her and even though he would miss her terribly, she deserved to have a bit of time on her own. Not only that, but he had heard Uncle Vernon telling his aunt that he would be selling the 'ruddy bird' if it continued to make such a racket. She would come back if Harry needed her, like other owls that were close to their wizard owners, she would be able to sense if he needed her and would fly back to him.

When he looked up again he was surprised to see that the sun was now setting, he hadn't realised the hours had been passing so quickly. He was hardly complaining, the quicker the days went before he got back to Hogwarts, the better.

He cringed slightly as he heard raised voices from downstairs, and walked over to the window when he heard a loud bang. He looked just in time to see Vernon storming out of the house, slamming the front door as he went.

_He's gone...again._

Harry had been avoiding the Dursleys as much as possible, and they seemed to have a similar idea towards him. He only really saw them at breakfast and even then conversation was non-existent, but even Harry could not avoid over hearing snippets of their discussion. From what he could make out, Vernon had been having extreme problems at work, sales were right down, and money was very short. For this reason Vernon had been disappearing almost every night, at first Harry thought that he was having an affair, but he scratched that thought when he laid eyes on him again. Then one night a few days ago, Harry saw Vernon stagger back into the house, he heard him stumble up the stairs and slur incomprehensible words to his aunt. It was very obvious that he was drunk, and that he had been going to the pub regularly, drowning his sorrows in glass upon glass of whiskey.

Harry sat on his bed, wiping the exhaustion from his eyes; mist seemed to be closing in around the edges and his body had become very heavy.

_I can't face sleep yet, just a little longer..._

9:32 PM the clock read, he had gone nearly three days with no sleep, and there was nothing he could do to prevent the inevitable. He pinched his face and arms so hard that blood spilled out.

But there was nothing he could do; his body would not function properly without sleep. His eyelids fluttered shut and he fell into a whirlpool of darkness.

_............Harry was running. He was running for what felt like hours, his eyes felt different and his whole body shape felt wrong, he was closer to the ground and was moving much faster then he ever could in his normal body. It was a strange sensation, but he was not able to dwell on the feeling; his sharp eyes had spotted something. He was running through woods, woods not unlike the Forbidden_ _Forest. He picked up something strange in the distance, it seemed like a clearing, there were no trees and what looked like a fire was glowing ahead. He didn't want to see, he didn't want to know, but he had no choice, he was going towards it and there was nothing he could do. He slowed to a halt and stood amongst the trees and foliage, just outside the large clearing. There were about twenty figures, all shrouded in long, ebony black robes. They were standing in a circle, all with wands pointing at something, but Harry couldn't make out what._

_He looked down at his huge paws and watched as they moved him out from behind the bush. His sensitive hearing picked out the sound of the rustling of wind and robes, heavy, laboured breathing, and then a cold, cruel laugh. It was not just one person though; all of them were chuckling at something they obviously found very amusing. Harry crept closer and closer still, his paws were silent as they touched the ground softly and the wizards did not so much as look in his direction. He knew they wouldn't, he was in a dream, but he still wanted to make sure that he went completely unnoticed. There were a few small gaps between some of the wizards, big enough for Harry to look through. He held his breath, and looked._

_What he saw were three people. There was a man; he must have been in his mid-thirties, with dark brown hair and a tanned complexion. Next to him was a woman who looked not much younger; she had shoulder length curly hair and big brown eyes. Harry was more troubled with the other person. It was a child, no older then six or seven, Harry figured he was the couple's son as he had his parent's features. They were all wearing muggle clothing and looked completely terrified._

_Until then, Harry had not looked closely at the people who had them at wand point, but he was already convinced at what he would see. He was right: Death Eaters. They were all wearing pristine white masks, and had long black robes that swayed in the breeze; their hoods were pulled up. He was surprised to see that one Death Eater in the circle had two large dogs sitting on either side, he recognised them as Rottweilers; Aunt Marge had labelled them 'The Devil's Dogs' ever since one had attacked her dog. They both had strong looking jaws that most probably contained equally strong teeth, with muscular chests and large heads. They sat calmly, surveying the scene before them without moving._

_Harry's senses tore his eyes from the people around him, and nearer to the trees. A lone figure stood there, the figure looked up, and Harry caught a glimpse of scarlet eyes under the low hood: it was Voldemort. Harry took a step backwards, wincing as his scar began to burn. He saw a dark shape moving slowly at the Dark Lord's feet, it moved with ease and crushed leaves and grass under its weight. Nagini curled and settled next to her master, she rested her large scaly head on her coils and watched the circle of robed clad people as her master did. Harry could imagine, if Voldemort's hood had been pulled down, the two dark creatures would look very similar. _

_The laughing ceased and Harry watched as one of the Death Eaters stepped forward. He pulled back his hood and lifted his mask; Harry felt a low, rumbling growl burn through his body, his lip curled and he licked his sharp teeth, wanting to clamp then around the man's neck._

_Lucius Malfoy walked towards the muggles and kicked the man violently in the stomach, "I'm afraid that's not a suitable reply," Malfoy said lazily. _

_He suddenly turned to the man and shouted, "Crucio!"_

_He screamed, his wife and child screamed, and Harry whimpered in the back of his throat. Malfoy let the curse take its course for a horribly, painful long time, but Harry saw Voldemort lift his hand in the distance, Malfoy saw it too and stopped._

_He turned his cold, evil eyes on the woman and the child in her arms._

_"You are about to realise the mistake you made when you married this piece of filth and the crime to wizardry you committed when you produced that mongrel," he indicated to the child who shivered in her arms._

_With that, Malfoy pulled out a large dagger with a silver handle and plunged it into the man's chest. He writhed and screamed in pain, while Malfoy wrenched it out and struck again._

_A couple of Death Eaters came to join in, throwing curses at his weakening body; one pulled out another knife and copied Malfoy. By the time they had finished his body was a gruesome sight, the child did not look and the woman just stood staring, tears spilling out of her eyes. Her knuckles turned white as she clutched her son closer to her, he was all she had._

_"Now woman, hand over the child. I want you to watch what happens when you cross the Dark Lord." _

_Before the Death Eaters could do anything, she pulled out a wand from her trouser leg, and turned it on her son. She kissed him once, whispered, "I love you" then uttered a few words. The boy slumped painlessly in her arms: dead. _

_She then turned her wand on herself, but before she did the same she shouted: _

_"The light will prevail!" _

_She fell to the ground._

_Malfoy turned on the Death Eater next to him, demanding to know why he hadn't removed all the ands. The burning on Harry's forehead increased, he backed away towards the trees as he saw Voldemort glide over to Malfoy. He stopped and looked at the Death Eater Malfoy had been shouting at; who dropped to his knees and kissed Voldemort's robes, begging for forgiveness._

_"I have no time for this. The dogs, Malfoy." he said in his cold voice. _

_Malfoy smirked at the Death Eater in front of him and looked around the circle to the man controlling the two animals, he nodded at him. The dogs' eyes were fixed on the Death Eater at Voldemort's feet, growling softly. The man in between them did not take his eyes from the kneeling Death Eater either, he simply muttered two words._

_With a final growl, they shot up and hurtled straight for the Death Eater. They both pounced on him, one went straight to the throat and ripped at it viscously, the other took the leg in his jd yanked, they climbed all over his body until all his blood pooled onto the grass. Voldemort watched silently, and when the dogs had finished, they trotted to his side, their teeth and muzzles stained a horrible red._

_The Death Eaters still hadn't finished. Malfoy and the others had closed in on the two other bodies like vultures - pulling out daggers._

_Harry couldn't help but scream, it fell on dead ears to the people around him. The sound from his throat was not human; it came as a loud, low noise that vibrated his whole body. He looked at the mangled bodies, the bodies of mother and child and screamed and screamed............_

Harry woke with a cry, he could taste the saltiness of tears on his cheeks, and his throat was raw from screaming. In the back of his mind he noticed that he was on the floor, with sheets stuck to his sweaty body. He dived for the bathroom; opening the door so violently that it screamed on its hinges. He threw himself at the toilet and retched; the images of the bodies kept coming into his mind, which only caused him to retch further.

When he had finished, he slumped against the wall behind him, his muscles ached from being bent over for so long, and it hadn't helped that he had fallen out of his bed. Getting up, he staggered over to the sink and splashed ice-cold water onto his face and in his mouth before he returned to sitting against the wall.

Harry rubbed his scar unconsciously, noticing for the first time that it did not burn. It throbbed like it had done since the end of term, but that was just like a permanent headache, nothing new. He had now had four horrific dreams; in each one he only caught a glimpse of Voldemort.

He stirred when the sound of shouting reached his ears: it was his uncle. Surprised that they had not stormed in on him by now and thrown him out for the noise he had most probably made, he quietly opened the bathroom door and tiptoed across the hall - towards his room. His aunt and uncle had been too busy shouting at each other to notice him.

"How do you expect us to live, we are short of money as it is, without you going out getting drunk every night?!" The shrill voice of his aunt rang out.

"I don't get drunk every night, and if your so god damn worried about the bloody money, why don't you get a job?!"

Harry could tell that his Uncle was not completely drunk anymore, just slightly tipsy.

"Oh yes, like what? Who would stay here and take care of our house?"

It went on like that for another hour, until they finally gave in to each other and went to sleep.

But the dark haired boy did not sleep; he continued to look out the window, at the glowing, silver moon.

He did not notice the pair of black beady eyes staring at him from the bushes outside 4 Privet drive.


	2. Reveal

**_Chapter 2: Reveal_**

The rat looked up at the window of 4 Privet Drive and watched as the dark haired boy gazed out into the distance. The small black eyes swivelled around to look at the area around the house; there was no obvious protection, like the slight shimmer of light that indicated some sort of charm or ward. The rat crept out of the bushes and towards 4 Privet drive, it made sure it kept to the shadows for the risk of being noticed.

If he could get Potter to his master, he would receive the highest honour; no one would dare demean him again for risk of his master's wrath. Certain people would be laughing on the other side of their faces when they saw him walk up to his Lord with the Potter boy squirming in his arms – people that included a contemptuous, blond, stormy eyed man. His teeth chattered in excitement as he thought of the look that would pass over Malfoy's face.

Not a creature stirred to watch the rat, if they had they would have seen the creature's ears twitch as thoughts of its future glory swam around in its head, filling it with a happy bubbling in its gut.

His paws pattered along the ground silently, and as thoughts consumed him, he became distracted by them. He did not feel the ward until it pulled on him; it wasn't the sort of pull from physical contact, it was a pull from deep inside, a tugging that stopped him going any further. He felt like his limbs were being held in an invisible iron grip.

He should have known not to underestimate how far the boy's protector's would go to keep him safe, he should have known that some one who wished Potter harm would not be able to just walk through the door and take him. He should have known he would never have been able to carry out the plan he had mapped out in his small brain. But this rat was so overcome by what he would of achieved had he got what he wanted, that he never considered the consequences if he was caught.

As the tugging from inside got more intense, the rat struggled against it and pushed violently backwards, as soon as it was free it fled away from the house. The filthy creature darted in the gutter and down a drain, following the other rats and running towards its Master. It heard a desperate shout behind it but just kept on running.

If the street hadn't been deadly silent at that moment, Harry might have missed the sound of rustling bushes on a windless night.

He looked down sharply, feeling his blood pumping faster than it should. His eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the darkness, but when they did he saw a rat standing a few yards from the front door. It seemed to be struggling a few inches from the grounds, writhing against some invisible cords. As it turned on its side Harry found the light shining down from the street lamps reflected something unnatural about the rat.

It had a silver paw.

Time slowed down to a complete halt in that second.

The room spun in front of Harry's eyes. His heart rate sped up immediately, the pounding in his ears was deafening and the banging in his chest was almost painful. He knew that it was Pettigrew, he knew it, he wanted to jump up and kill him right there. But Harry couldn't do anything, his feet were frozen to the ground, and images were speeding through his mind, images of the third task, images of the shrieking shack. But, strangely, it was the last image that put Harry into action.

His parent's wedding picture.

In a second Harry had grabbed the wand from his holder and shot out the bedroom door, jumped down the stairs six at a time, threw open the front door and was sprinting down Privet drive faster then he had ever run in his life.

By that point the rat had managed to slink away from the ward, and was running towards the gutter with a few rats alongside him.

Harry shot the first spell that came into his head.

"_Accio_"

The rat came hurtling towards him at great speed, shrieking indignantly and writhing as it hit his outstretched hand.

Harry's heart plummeted to the floor.

It was just a regular rat. No silver paw. Another two or three ran into the drain, none of them were Pettigrew. Harry dropped it and watched as it followed the others. He knew that the one he had seen was Pettigrew, he saw with his own eyes. The thought of the disgusting traitor returning to his master infuriated Harry to the point he could hardly see straight. Pettigrew was the one who had been with his father in the Forbidden Forest, knowing all along that he was going to be his downfall. Pettigrew had killed his parents, Cedric, and had broken Sirius to the point of no return.

Harry felt pure hatred course through his veins, causing him to shake violently. He wanted to kill Pettigrew, he wanted to kill Lucius Malfoy, and most of all; Voldemort, he was the source of it all.

The hate inside him completely took over; it rose from a small burning in his gut and grew till it was a huge, roaring fire.

He violently kicked one of the small trees on the road, picturing the faces of the people who had done this to him. It made him feel better, so he did it again and again. All he could think was of all the hurt his loved ones had felt, all the hurt he had caused, and the fact that that rat had just slipped through his fingers.

There was a loud smashing, and before Harry knew what had happened, pieces of glass from smashed milk bottles came hurtling at the unfortunate tree; they came at such a speed that they wedged deep inside it.

He sank to his knees, the realisation of what had just happened over coming him. He hadn't used that amount of energy since the end of last term - he was emotionally and physically exhausted. The lack of food, the shock, the energy he had used, and lack of sleep caused Harry to feel sickeningly dizzy, the floor moved around him, and he fell into nothingness before his head hit the floor.

. . . . . . . . x. . . . . . . .

A weight on his chest was what he noticed first, then a voice.

Harry opened his eyes slowly, seeing only a blue blur in front of him; he reached to his bedside table for his glasses and panicked when he couldn't find them – them or the table.

The voice over him became clearer.

"Oh good, you're awake," he recognised that voice, it was female, sort of soft, kind…old.

The feeling of his glasses being place in his hands made him feel more relaxed and he put them on as quick as his body would allow – he felt heavy.

"There you go, you just lie back and relax and everything will be fine."

Now that Harry had awoken completely, he took note of his surroundings, and his company.

He was in a white painted living room, lying on a navy blue sofa. The carpet was dark blue, and there was a crackling, warm fire just opposite where he was lying. There was an armchair on his left facing the fire, which was also blue.

Mrs. Figg was the one who had spoken, and she was currently sitting in the armchair surveying him with kind eyes.

Harry opened his mouth to ask how and when he had been put on her sofa, but instead a low gurgling sort of sound came out.

"Hush, hush, don't try to talk, you just be quiet now and I will do all the talking. All right?"

Harry nodded, groaning inwardly.

"You got yourself in quite a state didn't you? Found you lying on the grass outside my house. So, I brought you in here, laid you down on the sofa, lit a fire and kept you warm with those blankets – I'm very surprised you didn't catch your death out there."

She paused and gave him a look that said: 'now you're here I'm going to fuss over you till your blue in the face and shower you with pictures of my cats.'

If Harry hadn't been feeling as bad as he did, he would have jumped out the window and made a run for it.

"How would you like some cocoa?"

He nodded again, frustrated with his inability to find his tongue.

As Mrs. Figg walked out of the room and into the kitchen, Harry paid attention to the weight that was on his chest – a cat. It reminded him of Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, it had the same intelligent, knowing eyes, but this cat was a rather fat tabby.

"Ah, I see you've met Bianca, she wouldn't leave your side the whole time you've been here, she's a very affectionate cat."

She handed Harry his cocoa, and he took it with both hands, sitting up as he did so.

He sipped it carefully; his hands were shaking so he had to be careful not to let it spill everywhere. It ran down his throat, warming him inside, his throat soothed and his stomach stopped aching, it was warm on his chapped lips and after a sip he notice that they were once again smooth.

"Feel better?" asked Mrs. Figg.

"Yes, thanks" his voice still wasn't back to normal, it was slightly croaky.

She winked at him, "Good, good, I knew that would do the trick."

"Mrs. Figg, I really feel much better; I should probably get back to my Aunt's."

He went to rise, but she placed a firm hand on his chest, and pushed him back down gently.

"Oh no you don't, you're not getting away from me that easily. You may feel better, but that doesn't mean your body's ready to get up and go, no, you'll stay here until your legs feel like moving again."

_Please no._

Mrs. Figg sat down in the large armchair by the fire, picked up what looked like a remote control, and pressed a button. Harry jumped as the TV turned on; he hadn't even noticed there was one in the room – it was at the end of the sofa by his feet facing the armchair and sofa.

"I hope you don't mind Harry dear, I like a bit of six o'clock news."

_Six o'clock?! _

The sound of a reporter talking reached Harry's ears.

"……….a truly horrific crime. The police are saying that this could be the work of devil worshippers who have already committed a total of four shocking crimes, all with similar endings. Forensics were not able to recognise the bodies of George, Sarah and their son Matthew Crew. They had to identify them from dental records; it looks as though they were stabbed to death, then used as a sacrifice for some sort of ritual. Another body was found nearby, savaged by dogs…………"

A horrible feeling rolled around Harry's gut, it must have been them, last night. His throat closed up, and he looked away from the television, the rolling in his stomach continued.

"Harry, you've gone very pale, is everything all right?"

Once again, the images rolled through his mind, the child's screams echoed through his head, he put his hands over his ears to block out the sound.

"Harry?"

"Harry?"

He opened his eyes and Mrs. Figg's concerned face swam into his vision.

"Oh Harry," she whispered.

Arms wrapped around him for a short moment, but they were gone as soon as they had reached out. Mrs. Figg got up again and walked into the kitchen, and Harry could hear her sniffling.

_I need to get out of here,_ he thought, putting his hand over his wand holder.

He visibly jolted when he felt the empty holder.

_Oh no._

Harry practically jumped off the sofa, his body screaming in protest, his legs shaking as he tried to move. He walked as quietly as he could through the hall passing the kitchen, and saw Mrs. Figg pouring tea into a kettle. He heard soft paws padding along behind him, and looked around to see Bianca following him closely, her eyes surveying him curiously.

Harry made furious hand movements trying desperately to shoo her away, but she merely swished her tail from side to side, opened her small mouth and…

"No don't!" Harry whispered.

_MEOOOW, _she let out a long, loud howl.

_Stupid cat._

"Bianca?" Mrs. Figg came out of the kitchen, looked at the cat, then looked up at Harry.

"Harry what are you doing? Come on dear, let's get you back on the sofa."

"Erm, Mrs. Figg, the thing is, I…errr…. must of dropped something when I was outside…. it's quite important. I won't be long."

She walked back into the kitchen and came back out holding a long, shiny piece of wood. Harry stared wide eyed, and had to clench his fingers to stop himself running forward and snatching it from her.

"Is this what you wanted?" The old, creaky sound of her voice slipped away, it was quite clear.

"I must say Harry; I'm surprised you let this out of your sight for a second, in your situation you can't afford to be apart from it."

His mouth fell open and he shut his eyes for a few seconds, but when he opened them again there was no difference to the scene.

"I can tell by the completely astonished look on your face that you understand my meaning, yes Harry; I a witch. Now, get back on that sofa."

Harry took his wand from her, stumbled back into the living room and all but fell onto the sofa. Mrs. Figg followed him in.

"I know you want an explanation, Harry. Merlin knows you deserve it."

She sat down on her armchair, and tucked her feet beneath her, staring into space for a few minutes, occasionally taking a sip from her tea.

Harry started to get impatient and fidgeted nervously, he was about to say something but she broke the silence for him.

"I suppose you should really meet me for who I am if you're going to understand this."

She stood once more, and pulled her wand…Harry swallowed hard at the sight of it…from a pocket that seemed way too small for what it held. She then turned it on herself and said loudly:

"_Acclaro_!_"_

The light around her shimmered for a few seconds, then starting from her feet, her body began to change.

The skinny short legs became longer and shapelier, her waist got smaller, the back straightened, her wrinkly hands smoothed out, as did her fingers - then her face started to transform.

The thinned, pale lips became fuller and red, her cheeks lost the wrinkles and the lines around her eyes became less obvious. Her nose became smaller and slightly up turned at the end, the grey hair that was tied up in a bun at the back of her head fell out, and short, dark blond, curly hair fell onto her shoulders. The only things that did not change were her eyes; they remained the soft brown that they had been before.

Her clothes had also changed. She had been wearing a long flowery dress, with a blue cardigan, but now she wore a pair of jeans and a baggy white T-shirt with a picture of a scruffy black dog on the front.

Harry stared. And stared… and stared. His eyes were as wide as dinner plates and he could feel his mouth hanging open.

"Harry, I'm still Mrs. Figg, well, technically I'm Miss. Figg, but I'm still the same person."

Harry stared.

Her voice had also changed, the old, creaky, kind voice it once was, was now clear, light and soft.

"Can you _please _tell me what is going on?" asked Harry faintly.

"Of course, but Harry please do sit back, your making me nervous."

He knew that a revelation like the one that had just unfolded was worthy of a long explanation, so he sat back and let the fire warm him.

. . . . . . . . x. . . . . . . .

"It all began when I was seven years old; when I first met your mother. She loved horse riding and that's how I first came to meet her. When I arrived at the stables, I was a complete novice, but your mother saw this and took me under her wing. She was only seven, bless her, but could ride very well. By the time she was ten, she had her own horse…Pilgrim, she called him, he was only young.

"We received our Hogwarts letters when she was at my house; we were both ecstatic about it, naturally. But when we got onto platform 9 ¾ we were absolutely terrifed! We got through it though and we were best friends throughout Hogwarts. Your mother and father didn't get along at first…well, alright…that's to put it mildly. Don't look at me like that Harry, they did of course eventually see the good in each other, and they fell deeply in love. When we graduated, your father and Sirius became Aurors.

"They married when they were 20, and had you a year later. Remember Harry; the time you were born was the time of Voldemort's 'reign of terror'. I was at the hospital when you were born, you were 2 weeks early, gave us all a bit of a shock. One minute we were all having dinner, the next, your mother was crying out that her waters had broke. Oh, James and Sirius' faces, if the time weren't so serious I would have been on the floor laughing. They both looked completely horrified, started running about like headless chickens. They were so enormously proud when you were born, Harry, you were such a beautiful baby. Well, you know what happened a year later, Voldemort fell and you were sent to your aunt and uncles."

"I was devastated when they died, devastated, and it got worse when Peter got killed by Black and he was sent to Azkaban…"

She went quiet for at least five minutes, staring into the crackling fire, the orange glow of it lit up her pale and dejected features. As for Harry, he let this new information sink in, Miss. Figg was his mother's best friend, she was the one who knew more about her than any one else. She obviously didn't know about Sirius' innocence, and Harry felt a stab of resentment towards Dumbledore, why had he never told her the truth?

"Miss. Figg?" he whispered.

She turned around and looked at Harry, seeming to have forgotten where she was and that she had company.

"Please Harry, call me Bella."

He nodded.

"Sorry. So, um, after Black got sent to Azkaban, I ran away to the muggle world for a while; I had to get away from everything. After that while I was called on by Professor Dumbledore, he had a request for me, a special request. You see Harry, when you were taken to your aunt's, you had to be completely cut off from the wizarding world and if I had gone to try and see you, Petunia would have recognised me immediately as her sister's best friend.

"The Headmaster requested that I disguise myself and move into a house near where you lived, so I could see you. That was not the only reason I was sent here though, I'm sure you have realised. I have been here, your whole life, watching over you, there are wards around your house that will alert me when anyone who wishes to harm you enters it. Every time your Aunt requested that I look after you, I was over the moon, but the only problem was I could not be myself around you, I had to keep my old, eccentric woman person about you. But Harry, there were so many times I just wanted to pick you up and cuddle you, you reminded me of happy times with both your parents, and I thank you for that."

She went silent. Harry knew that it was painful for her to talk about his parents' death to him, he was glad he had offered her comfort, even if he had not known he was doing so.

"Miss…I mean, Bella, do you know what happened last night?"

"I wasn't going to ask you about that, it seemed as though you didn't want to talk about it. You must have been angry though, to do that to that poor tree, you do realise that you performed magic outside school, don't you?"

Harry choked on the cocoa he was sipping and after a short coughing fit, he looked at Bella in a panic.

"I forgot! Will I be expelled?! Has a letter come?! What--"

"Harry, it's ok, I sent an owl to the Headmaster as soon as I realised you had left the house, and I talked to him earlier about the state I found you in. He's not going to expel you and I'm sure he'll sort things out with the ministry if they get wind of it, but he does want to talk to you when you feel better."

He slumped back in relief.

What should I do about my aunt and uncle? They're probably wondering why I'm not doing the chor – why I'm not in my room."

"Well, I suppose we could always try and convince them to let you stay here for the rest of the holidays, only if you want to of course?"

Harry's whole face lit up, finally, he could find out all about his parents. It would be the equivalent to spending the summer with Sirius.

"I'd love to."

He was not entirely confident in his aunt and uncles ability to do anything decent for him though…but, then again, they may think spending the summer with an eccentric old woman would _not _be good for him

_There is some hope, _he thought sarcastically.

Bella got up and walked into the kitchen, then came back out with two mugs.

"Here, drink this, it's a healing potion, it'll give you an energy boost to go over and see your aunt."

It tasted just like cocoa. "Is this what you gave me earlier?"

"What? Oh, yes, a combination of chocolate and healing potion will always make someone feel better."

She still had that other mug in her hand, she held her nose and threw the whole lot back in one, grimacing as she did so.

Once again she began to transform, but the other way round.

A few seconds later, there stood old Mrs. Figg.

"Can't you just---?"

"Do the spell again?" she finished for him, "I could, but ageing is more painful than becoming young again"

Harry's legs felt stronger, so he got off the sofa carefully, pins and needles took swamped his legs and feet, but he ignored it and concentrated on walking.

"All right Harry, ready to go?"

They walked down the road towards Number 4 Privet Drive, he saw the gutter that Pettigrew had ran down and felt a flare inside him again, then he saw the tree that he had wrecked. Bella must have fixed it; it stood there as normal as it always had done.

Bella, or Mrs. Figg, rang the doorbell to his aunt's house and his Uncle soon answered, Petunia was most probably out shopping with Dudley, as his uncle could never be bothered to move to open the door if Harry's aunt was on hand.

"_BOY_?! Where have you been?! You're supposed to be-- "

He noticed Mrs. Figg.

"Err, Harry, get in the house and go up to your room, you know your not allowed to go wandering at night," his voice lowered and he _tried_ to sound almost…concerned.

Bella spoke up, using the most worn, ailing voice she could muster.

"Excuse me, Mr. Dursley, it is my fault, I fell over just up the road here, Harry saw me and helped me back to my house, and he very kindly looked after me. The thing is, I have not been feeling at all well recently, and Harry would be a great help to me, would you allow him to stay at my house for a few weeks?"

Harry knew it was a long shot, but his Uncle seemed to be thinking it over, he could let Harry go and be rid of his abnormality, but, if he did let him go, Mrs. Figg might _find out_ about his abnormality then the whole street would know.

The latter won.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Figg, you don't want Harry looking after you, he's not much help. You know what these teenagers are like; completely selfish and arrogant, no, I'll send Dudley round for you every day, to see how you're feeling."

By the sound of his voice, anyone could tell that he really couldn't care less about the old lady's health.

Vernon closed the door in her face.

He turned on Harry, his face bright purple, his little eyes bulging and furious - he looked like a tomato.

"What do you think you were doing, you stupid, stupid boy?!" he said in a low hiss, he seemed too angry to even shout.

"Helping a sick old woman back to her house," Harry returned, he felt dismayed that the man in front of him could show such little concern for an old lady's health, and with that, he had the gall to slam the door in her face.

Vernon looked livid, "How dare you talk back to me?! You will never, ever go back outside for the rest of your time here, now go and do your chores, NOW!"

"I want to stay with Mrs. Figg," he was really pushing his luck now.

"TOUGH!!" his uncle roared.

"I want to stay with Mrs. Figg," he repeated – a vein started throbbing in Vernon's neck and forehead.

Vernon grabbed the front of his collar roughly and shoved him against the wall.

He put his face very close to his: his breath reeked of alcohol.

"Get back up to your room this second, there will be no meals for-for two weeks and you will do double your chores every day."

"Let. Go." Harry hissed through clenched teeth.

Vernon pushed him back again, his back banging painfully against the wall behind him.

"And you will respect me and my family, you should be grateful your parents are dead, the worthless pieces of filth wouldn't be able to give you half as good a life as you have here. That mother of yours was a filthy slag and your father--"

Even though Harry was physically weak and had had little food, at that moment he was able to throw off Vernon and punch him hard in the eye. His uncle bounced off the opposite wall and came right back at Harry, he pulled back his arm and attempted to punch him in the stomach; the alcohol won over and is fist rammed into the wall instead.

"AARGGHH," roared Vernon, he had got a glimpse of himself in the hall mirror and seen the beginnings of an angry red bruise.

His uncle managed to hit him across the head with the back of his hand; Harry reached for his wand desperately as Vernon raised his fist again, but when he looked up, his uncle was on the floor.

Confused, Harry looked around, the front door was open and Mrs. Figg was standing in the doorway, her wand pointed at the figure of his uncle on the ground.

She walked into the house, her wand still directed carefully on Vernon.

"Harry," her voice was tight with suppressed fury, "…go upstairs and get your things, everything."

He stepped over his uncle, tentatively touching his aching head, and climbed up the stairs.

As quickly as he could, he grabbed his birthday presents, Hedwig's cage and all his things, took one last look at the room he hated more than any other, and slammed the door shut. A feeling of a weight being lifted from his stomach took him as he heard the bedroom door click shut, not to be open for another year.

Walking down the stairs, a sight that he would savour forever greeted him. Bella, back to her original form, was standing over his now very awake uncle, with her wand pointed at his heart, and was telling him just what she thought of him.

Harry's foot creaking on the stairs got her attention and she looked up to grin at him. She then muttered something under her breath and his uncle transformed into a big, fat slug.

Harry guffawed. It was one of the most satisfying things he had ever seen, aside from the Malfoy-ferret incident.

"Well, that's something I've been wanting to do for 14 years, I'm glad I got that off my chest."

"Won't you get I trouble?" Harry asked, he couldn't help but hide his smirk, seeing his uncle slithering on the floor.

"It only lasts for about a hour, and it's not a pain inflicting hex, so it would probably just be a small fine, I think it's worth it though, don't you?"

"Oh yes."

. . . . . . . . X. . . . . . . .

Once they had got back to Bella's house, and Harry had put his things in his new room, they sat in the living room and Bella saw to Harry's injuries.

She once again sat in her armchair, Harry lying on the sofa. The only sound was the crackling fire, and Bianca's purrs as he scratched her soft ears.

"Has he ever done that before, hit you?" Bella asked suddenly.

"No. He shouts a lot, but he's never done anything like that before, I suppose I did provoke him, but he was insulting my parents again, he crossed the line."

"What, like your Aunt Marge did?"

Harry groaned, "Does the whole world know about that? I swear I'll never live that down."

She smiled, "No, you probably won't; any way, if she was insulting Lily and James, then she did deserve it."

They fell into silence, both staring at the fire. Harry watched the flames beat and lick at the logs, the yellow glow made the room seem more homely, a little like being back in the Gryffindor common room. He turned to watch Bella gazing into the fire. The soft light showed the smoothness of her face, and Harry tried to imagine her his age.

"Could you tell me about my parents?"

She looked at him and the sadness came back into her eyes, but it did not show in her voice.

"What do you want to know?"

"Anything, I just want to know what they were like, I've never been told that much."

She thought for a few minutes before answering him.

"Your mother was the greatest person I ever knew, she was beautiful, kind, considerate, she had a wonderful, powerful presence…every one loved her. She did have one fiery temper on her, though; most of the boys at Hogwarts were too terrified of her to ask her out! That's why she and James didn't get on at first; they both had so much in common, but they didn't know that until later.

"She was very intelligent too, her and your father. They were always battling with each other to stay at the top of the class, she would be furious if James beat her at something, which tended to be Transfiguration, he was very good at that. I remember her saying to me once, "How does he manage to stay at the top, he never revises, he's always pulling pranks, he revises five minutes before a test or exam and he does his homework at the breakfast table!?" But I think them being Head Boy and Girl brought them together; they had to spend a lot of time together.

"Your father…well, Black would probably be able to tell you more about him than me, they had known each other since they were three. But, he was a great, great man, and a very powerful wizard too. Him and his friends had a group called the Marauders, they were the most popular boys in the school, they were handsome, intelligent, kind and above all – bad. Everyone likes a bad boy," she smiled wistfully, "James was a real joker, always playing well-deserved pranks on the Slytherin's. But when he left school, everything became deadly serious.

"Lord Voldemort killed his parents, your grandparents, in his fifth year, and he wanted revenge. James and Sirius became Aurors and saved many lives, caught many Death Eaters. But, of course Sirius wasn't a true Auror, he was a – well you know what I mean. Both your parents were well loved, Harry, by everyone who got the pleasure of meeting them. They were completely devoted to each other, and you."

When she had finished, Harry smiled and took a few moments to absorb every word she had said, creating a mental image of the parents he never had.

"I think," said a voice from the fireplace, "that now would be a good time for me to have a word with young Mr. Potter."


	3. Old Enemy and Healing

**_Chapter 3: Old Enemy and Healing_**

Harry nearly threw the sleeping cat off his lap when he noticed Dumbledore's head in the fire. The Headmaster smiled gently at him, his eyes dark and his face paler than normal. The disgruntled cat hissed at Harry and jumped off his lap, trotting into the kitchen.

"Professor!" Bella had also jumped at the Headmaster's voice, and had pulled out her wand in shock. She put it away hastily, flushing in embarrassment.

"Good evening Arabella. I'm sorry to pop in unannounced. I was wondering if I might talk with Harry for a moment?"

Harry had not even had time to greet his Headmaster, so just nodded mutely.

"Yes, yes, of course," Bella said quickly, "I'll be upstairs if you need me."

She got up and walked out, closing the door behind her. Harry had the feeling Bella and the Headmaster had spoken recently, hence the lack of conversation between the two.

There was a short, not uncomfortable silence between the two. Harry could feel Dumbledore's gaze piercing the top of his head.

"It may not be the most appropriate question to ask in the current circumstances, but I shall nonetheless ask how you are?"

Harry raised his bowed head and looked into the fireplace, giving a wry smile, "I've been better, sir."

"No doubt. I hear there was a…incident."

Harry nodded, "I had another vision, and something happened after I woke up," he stared at the fire hesitantly.

The blue eyes held his gaze. He could see concern and concentration shining from under the bushy white eyebrows.

"Could you tell me what happened in the vision?"

He did. He said that he had been running through woodland, he saw Lucius Malfoy and the other Death Eaters; they talked to the woman, tortured and killed the man. There was a child, a little boy, and he told how the woman had killed her son, then herself.

He stopped for a minute, and took a deep breath before continuing.

"The Death Eaters took out daggers…then they put some curses that…ripped-"

Harry stopped abruptly, not wanting to go into detail. He assumed from the grim look on Dumbledore's face that he understood.

"I'm sorry you had to see it," the Headmaster sighed heavily, "The woman's name was Sarah Crew and her son was Matthew, she was a student here at Hogwarts about ten years ago. Unfortunately her fate was sealed when she began training as an Auror and married a muggle, but I'm afraid that fate was brought about quickly after Voldemort found out she had a half-blood child."

Harry frowned, "How do you…?"

"We sent somebody out immediately after the bodies were found by a local muggle farmer, we knew what had happened already, and assumed they must be the victims."

"Voldemort killed one of his Death Eaters as well," Harry remembered, "because he didn't take all the wands. Well, he didn't actually kill him…there was someone there with two massive dogs that did it."

Dumbledore nodded, obviously knowing this too.

"Then you had a visit?"

Harry looked up sharply, surprised Dumbledore knew this too. Bella hadn't mentioned it so he had assumed she didn't know, just like she didn't seem to know about Sirius.

"Yeah…" Harry replied slowly, "…I saw a rat with a silver paw from my window. I ran outside and chased him, but he was too quick," he paused, "I know it was really stupid…"

The Headmaster nodded solemnly, "You shouldn't have gone outside, no. I trust that you'll learn from this, though, I'm not going to tell you what could have happened because I'm sure you already know. Now, from what you could tell, did Pettigrew see you once you were out of the house?"

"No, he was already running when I got outside."

"Right, that would explain why he did not try to take you to Voldemort…I'm afraid if he had seen you outside the protective wards, things may have been different. It is strange…."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone after him like that," Harry whispered quietly, feeling guilty for putting everything Dumbledore had done for him into jeopardy.

"I know you're sorry, which means you have learnt, so we will not speak of it again. For now, I need to find out more about Pettigrew's little escapade. Unfortunately this has been brief, but I will hopefully be seeing you soon, Harry."

"Goodbye, sir."

Dumbledore's head disappeared.

Harry continued to stare into the fire, _what was Pettigrew up to?_

If there had been a serious plot to kidnap him, he expected it would have been more successful. For one, Harry doubted Voldemort would allow Pettigrew to come alone like he had done.

Sighing in exasperation, he remembered Bella was upstairs waiting for him to finish with Dumbledore, so he got up and went up to let her know he had gone.

Harry got to the top of the stairs and frowned as he heard voices. He knew Bella didn't have any TV's upstairs, and besides, one of the voices was Bella's.

He padded quietly across the hall, dodging the creaky floorboards he knew to be there. A few seconds passed and his frown deepened as he heard Dumbledore's soft voice emitting from the same bedroom Bella's was. He strained his ears to listen.

"…Hogwarts tomorrow," _Dumbledore_, "I fear it is not safe for the two of you to be there at the present time. Don't worry, it is just a precaution…but I don't want to be taking any unnecessary risks. I will explain all when you arrive, this is not something I can disclose whilst my head is in a fireplace."

"Of course, sir. What exactly do you want me to tell Harry?"

"Oh, I don't think that will be necessary. He has heard most of what I just said."

Harry straightened from his bent over position. He thought about running down the stairs for a second, but then realised how stupid that was and stood on the other side of the door awkwardly.

_I should have known…_he thought, knowing a mere wooden door would never stop Dumbledore from seeing things others couldn't.

There was a moment's pause, before footsteps crossed the room and Bella's face appeared in front of him. She stood aside to let him in and he smiled sheepishly at her.

"Come on in Harry. No point in eavesdropping when you can be in the centre of it, is there?" He could see the smile in her eyes.

"Yeah…sorry, didn't mean to…" he tried, lamely.

"Yes, well, never mind," Bella dismissed his apology, before smiling again, "the fact is Harry, we're going to be spending the remainder of the holidays in Hogwarts."

Harry stared

. . . . . . . . x. . . . . . . . .

Fortunately, he was spared having to see any of Lord Voldemort's night time antics…there were no murders, but from the painful ache he had in his scar when he woke, he suspected some sort of punishment had been given. The immense relief he felt at the prospect of being back at Hogwarts lifted some of the weight from his shoulders, he would be close to Dumbledore, and he could be informed of whatever happened with the Dark Lord without having to rely on biased, misinformed newspapers.

Harry now stood with all his bags packed, ready to floo to Diagon Alley. Bella was furiously trying to get her three cats into their individual baskets, but Bianca was defiantly refusing to budge from her favourite place by the fire. Harry laughed at the sight of Bella on her hands and knees in front of the cat, waving her arms and swearing under her breath; Bianca merely looked at her and yawned widely.

"Bloody, stubborn cat," she growled, "Harry, you just go and I'll follow in a minute or two," Bella said, turning to him. He picked a pinch of powder from the mantle piece, and prepared to throw it in.

He grabbed his feather light trunk and Hedwig's cage, threw the powder into the roaring fire around him, and cried, "Diagon Alley!" as clearly as he could. Green flames roared about him and the last thing he saw was Bella shoving Bianca in, who then darted through her legs and hissed loudly. The rush in his ears was deafening, his stomach rolled as fireplace after fireplace whizzed past his vision, making him dizzy.

Once he was sure he was at the right one, in The Leaky Cauldron, he tumbled out….

…and collided with someone.

The someone jumped back with a growl of disgust, carefully wiping the dust from the perfectly tailored, dark green, robes.

Harry looked up very slowly, already dreading what he would see. He saw the finely polished black shoes, the long, soft dark robes, the diamond incrusted snake clasp that held it around the person's shoulders.

Lucius Malfoy stood in front of him; a sneer plastered on his pale, pointed face.

The Third Task, the dreams and visions came back to him in full force. He had managed to avoid thinking about it when he was at Bella's, but now there was no stopping the chilling screams and countless terrified faces that raced through his head.

Something in him drew away the fear, replacing it with anger and nerve. Harry stood tall, and held his head high, not once flinching at the murderous flash in Malfoy's stony eyes. His hand automatically strayed to his wand on his right thigh and he gripped it tight, looking back at the enemy with equal hatred. This was the first time they had met since the third task; they both knew it, and they both wanted to curse each other on the spot.

They glared for a few seconds; Harry's lip curled involuntarily in loathing. Malfoy raised one slender blond eyebrow, as if challenging him to do something in the middle of the busy pub.

Harry vaguely heard the rushing of wind behind him.

"Sorry Harry, Bianca eventually gave in, she realis…."

She fell silent as she took in the scene before her. The stench of hate was unbearable.

"Is there a problem?" She asked, her voice very cold.

Malfoy turned his head in her general direction, not once taking his icy, grey eyes off Harry.

"No problem. I think Mr. Potter here," he spat the name like poison, "needs to learn how to walk after travelling," the mocking in his voice was clear.

Harry replied steadily, "Not really. Sometimes you have to get to places so quickly, you don't think about your landing. As long as you can beat others to it, nothing else matters."

It was obvious he was referring to his escape during the Third Task. Something he knew everyone associated with Voldemort was very, very sore about.

Malfoy's jaw clenched.

"Just watch where you're going," he snarled, leaning close to Harry, "There'll be no second chances next time."

Before Harry had time to retort, Lucius Malfoy was already out the pub door.

Bella had gone slightly pale, and there was a twinge of fear in her eyes. Coming that close to a powerful Death Eater like Malfoy was unnerving, and brought everything about their situation home.

"Hopefully the next time I have to look into his face again…he'll be dead," Harry spat, his voiced laced with anger.

Bella looked at him, her expression desperate, "Harry, avoid him at _all _costs. Just as you would Voldemort."

He frowned lightly at her, _how much does she really know?_ He wondered, _nothing about Sirius or Pettigrew…what about everything that happened in the graveyard? There must be a huge chunk missing from what she does know….Pettigrew played a big part in it all._

Bella interrupted his thoughts, "Anyway, shall we get started?"

She shrunk all their luggage so it could be pocketed, then they made their way through the pub and into Diagon Alley. As soon as the familiar sights and sounds of the wizarding world came back to him, Harry felt a huge thrill race through him; it was both comforting but unsettling to be back with magic. The Alley wasn't nearly as busy as it was nearer term time, but wizards, witches, hags and even a banshee were shuffling in and out of each shop, their money bags getting lighter and shopping bags heavier.

"So, where to first Harry?"

He took out the items list that had been owled to him earlier that day and scanned it quickly.

"Well, we could go to Flourish and Blotts to get the books, then the apothecary for more potion ingredients, then go from there?"

"Sure, Flourish and Blotts it is."

After purchasing the necessary textbooks and potion ingredients, Bella turned to him, "What about robes?"

They steered over to Madame Malkin's, barely having time to step over the threshold before they were pounced on.

"Mr. Potter!" called Madame Malkin shrilly, "how nice to see you dear, I don't usually until nearer term time."

"I, erm, thought I would get a head start, avoid all the crowds," Harry lied.

"Right, right, intelligent thinking. So how can I help you?"

Harry purchased two sets of plain black school robes, and new green dress robes.

Bella needed some fittings for dress robes of her own, so Harry suggested he pop into the Quality Quidditch Supplies until she was finished.

He stopped on the way to go into the pet shop where he had first met Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, to buy some treats for Hedwig.

As he walked to the back of the shop to pay, he noticed a tank in the corner. Inside was a small snake, coiled in a bowl filled with water. It was about ten inches long and was a mossy green colour with thick, orange rings around its body, and a yellow tipped tail.

Harry approached the tank, knowing he shouldn't really, but not being able to resist. The creature was sleeping, with its head resting on the curled body. Even in sleep, the snake's senses forced it to notice it was being watched. The small black eyes opened, and it raised its head to look at Harry.

The small tongue flicked out of its mouth for a brief second, drinking in Harry's scent. It tilted its head slightly.

"_Strange,"_ it hissed quietly to itself, "…_familiar."_

It didn't seem to know Harry could understand it, just knew it felt a connection with him. Harry looked over his shoulder to check no one was watching him; there weren't many people who saw parseltongues as respectable people, and to be seen talking into a snake in the middle of a pet shop would do more than raise eyebrows.

"_Am I familiar?"_ He hissed, once again finding it amazing he could speak a language he didn't, in a sense, _know_.

The snake regarded him with more interest and slight shock. It searched Harry's face before it answered.

"_Perhaps. Our only familiarity is the language connection, I suspect."_

"_Yes, you wouldn't have talked to a human before."_

"_No," _the snake replied, "_but I have heard you calling me, though I _am_ aware you do not really want, or need me."_

_What? _Harry thought, bewildered.

"_Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about."_

"_Are you not the voice that summons?"_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Never answer a question with a question, human. The voice that summons comes from a wizard like you. It calls for all snakes, though only the big, powerful and worthy are needed."_

"_Needed for what?" _Harry suspected he knew where this was going, and his stomach dropped.

"_To make history, aid the rebirth of the Dark Lord's reign."_

Harry's head spun for a few horrible seconds, before he was brought back harshly by the shop keeper.

"Can I help you, sir?" He was oblivious to the conversation that had unfolded.

Harry forced himself to talk, knowing he had to get more information from the animal.

"How much is this snake?"

"The Medeor?" The man sounded surprised, "errr….that would be five Galleons."

"I'll take it," Harry reached into his pocket.

"Are you…sure? I mean, they can be very…aggressive."

Harry raised his eyebrows. That was a first: a shop assistant hesitant to sell something.

"Positive."

Would Hogwarts allow Harry to have a snake? He doubted it, it was the symbol of Slytherin, and Harry was in Gryffindor. He suspected the other Gryffindor's would not be thrilled.

The snake seemed confused when it was taken out of its tank. The shop keeper did so wearing Dragon-hide gloves, and Harry realised why when the snake sunk it's fangs into the think glove, moving its head from side to side.

"It's not poisonous…is it?"

"No, no, just a biter," the shopkeeper struggled to get it in a wooden box, but Harry told him to stop and said he would take it as it was.

The man looked at him as though he was completely insane, and after some reassurance, he held the snake out to him.

Harry nervously stretched his hands out, waiting for a tear at his flesh any moment. The snake looked at him in curiosity, before sliding off the man's hands and into Harry's, without ripping at his skin.

The man looked thoroughly confused, but nonetheless took the money.

Harry made his way out of the shop, and when he looked out the window he could see Bella paying for her robes.

"_Why did you bite him?" _he asked curiously.

"_It is in my nature to bite, so I do."_

"_You didn't when I took you."_

"_There is no need. You communicate with me, therefore I talk to you, not bite you."_

"_Fair enough," _Harry appreciated the honesty, and bluntness.

After hiding the snake in a large pocket in the inside of his robes, and asking it to keep its presence secret to anyone until he got to Hogwarts, he reunited with Bella.

"Right, thanks for waiting. Let's make a move," she said excitably, steering back to the pub.

...x...

His stumble out of the fireplace was no less graceful then when he had bumped into Malfoy: his bags flew everywhere and his glasses nearly fell off.

Once he had regained his composure, he took notice of which fireplace in which room he had landed in. He recognised the tall, dark red curtains hanging from the large windows surrounding the circular room, the tapestry of a lion standing gallantly on a cliff edge hanging over the fireplace. The comfortable red armchairs and dark, ornate wooden tables for homework, the staircases ahead of him leading to the boys and girl's dormitories, the blood red, gold lined rugs lying on the carpeted floor: he was in the Gryffindor common room. Once his mind had registered where he was, he became aware that he was not alone; the Headmaster was sitting in one of the cosy armchairs, a bowl of sherbet lemons on the chair's armrest. When Harry looked over, Professor Dumbledore raised his eyes to meet his, they looked tired and…old. Behind this, though, the old sparkle seemed to flare: like the sun on a warm day, merely obscured by misty, dark clouds.

"Good day Mr. Potter, I trust you had a comfortable journey?" he asked politely.

"As comfortable as travelling by floo can get, sir," he replied.

"Yes, yes, I never did enjoy that certain mode of transport, makes your head spin dreadfully…"

Harry nodded and stood awkwardly on the hearth. He was about to ask the Headmaster where Bella had got to, when he felt a stirring in his pocket. He could feel the snake crawling around, about to stick his head out. Harry hurriedly picked up his bags and made his way to the dorms, muttering to Dumbledore that he would be back in a minute.

Arriving at the top of the stairs, he looked down the corridor towards his room; it had "5th years" plated on the door. Putting his bags down, he turned the door handle and pushed it open. Familiar sights and smelled filled his senses as he entered the room, the perfect view of the Hogwarts grounds shimmered through the window and the light shone on his scarlet pillow through the bed hangings. The smell of freshly polished wood, clean bedding and lavender drew him in further.

Picking up his bags, he placed them at the foot of his bed, along with Hedwig's cage. He than took his robes off carefully and placed them on the bed, watching as the snake popped his head out and slithered onto the bed.

"_This is where you will be staying. You can sleep under the bed, and at the moment you can roam around here as much as you want, but there will come a point when other people are here, and they can never know you are here…do you understand?"_

The snake looked around in interest, flicking its tongue out repeatedly.

"_I understand."_

Harry quickly ran back downstairs, slightly embarrassed about his quick exit from the common room.

Professor Dumbledore was now standing in front of the fire, one arm propped on the fireplace, the other fiddling with his long robe sleeve. As Harry came back down the stairs, the Headmaster seemed to awaken and he turned towards him with a smile etched across his face.

"Now, Harry, I think it best we wait for Arabella to get here before we get started on explanations," he said, winking at him.

"Yes sir."

There was a moment's pause as the Headmaster scrutinised Harry carefully, seemingly checking everything was in place. When it seemed he was finished, he looked back at Harry's eyes and his face grew serious.

"When I talked with Arabella, she told me about the problem concerning your uncle. Sit down please, Harry."

Harry's eyebrows shot up slightly, he hadn't expected that. He nonetheless walked over to his favourite chair near the fire and climbed into it, revelling in the comforting feeling. He rubbed his eyes and passed a hand over his brow – suddenly tired.

He felt Dumbledore's piercing gaze and was powerless to do anything but meet it.

"It's not important," he grumbled, "We just got angry at each other and had a scuffle. He just really provoked me…I'm sorry, sir, I didn't _mean_ to punch him."

_Liar, _he thought to himself. He realised his voice sounded anything but remorseful. It _had _been very satisfying at the time, but he wasn't prepared to share that particular detail with Dumbledore.

"Harry, believe me I have no concerns over your uncle's welfare. From what Arabella told me, you could have experienced a nasty assault from the man if she had not intervened when she did. I must ask, has he ever been violent towards you, your aunt or cousin before?"

Harry looked at his hands, "Not like that. We've never got on…their family hate everything about our kind. He's never been violent; he just gets angry and shouts a lot, maybe throws a plate once in a while. He's never done anything like that to my aunt or Dudley though, just wizards and witches."

Dumbledore nodded, and Harry was sure most of what he said was nothing new to him.

"Nevertheless, whether he did it before is irrelevant, the fact is he meant to do more damage to you than he was able thanks to Arabella's interference. We cannot afford for you to be put in that position again, I will have to make arrangements for you to spend your future summers with Arabella. Is that alright with you?"

Harry looked up and slowly felt a grin stretch across his face. It was everything he had ever wanted…and dreamt of since he was young - getting shot of the Dursleys for good. He looked hard at the Headmaster to make sure he hadn't imagined him saying it…then realised he was waiting for him to answer the question.

He swallowed hard, "Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, where…ah! Here she is-"

The portrait swung open to reveal a glowing Arabella Figg. She grinned broadly as she looked at the Headmaster, a skip nearly apparent in her step as she walked over.

"Oh, Headmaster the room is wonderful! It's just like being back in Gryffindor again…I love it, the colours are perfect!"

"Good, good. I thought you might like it…I'm sure it brought back fond memories."

She nodded eagerly, then frowned slightly, "I believe you wanted to see me in here about something important, sir?"

"Yes, please take a seat."

She moved into the seat opposite Harry, her back now facing the entrance to the common room. Her head cocked to one side as she sat, "It seems strange you being in here with me Harry, it's just like being back seventeen years in the common room with James."

Harry smiled to reassure her as her eyes became distant, but she was quickly brought back when Dumbledore sat down and leaned back in his chair to talk to them.

"I'm sure both of you are curious as to why I insisted you came to Hogwarts early," he said slowly, "…there is a good reason, which I will explain as best I can. Harry, when we spoke of the night you ended up in Arabella's home, I became concerned. It was obvious that the attempt to get close to you had not been on Voldemort's orders from the way it was done, it seemed to me that the Death Eater responsible first wanted to test the protective wards around your house, then _try _to capture you. Foolish, yes. I am sure the Death Eater in question received a somewhat…cold reception when he returned to his master. There was a very prominent risk of him being captured and forced to reveal where Voldemort is…something which the Dark Lord would not appreciate in the slightest.

"Now, I brought you here because recent information has given me no choice. It is likely, of course, that nothing will come of what we have heard, but I am not willing to take that risk. You are safer here, both of you."

Bella spoke up, "Professor, you referred to the Death Eater as a man…does this mean we know who it was?"

"It does, indeed" he said simply, before turning to Harry, "…I would like to see you in my office some time tomorrow please, Mr. Potter. Good day to you both."

He left without another word, leaving Bella speechless.

She turned to Harry after he had gone, "I don't understand, neither you or him have really explained what happened that-"

She stopped abruptly as a deep voice gave the password to the Fat Lady. It swung open so fast it banged against the wall, and the Fat Lady cried out angrily.

A huge black dog bounded in, not noticing Bella in the chair, and ran straight up to Harry. It scrambled at his face eagerly, licking him all over his cheeks and yapping in a puppy-like, excitable way.

Harry laughed and tried to push him off. At that moment all thoughts of Bella's knowledge of Sirius completely slipped away, all that mattered was his godfather was with him…safe. Padfoot changed in an instant to be replaced by Sirius, whose face was flushed and grinning. He had shaved, but still had a shadow of stubble, and his hair was about the same length as Harry's. His blue eyes danced as he looked at his godson, but behind the happy demeanour, Harry could still sense the darkness behind his eyes.

Harry stood and hugged him tightly, Sirius held him at arms length.

"Bloody hell, Potter, I thought the muggles didn't feed you? You're nearly as tall as me, for Merlin's sake!"

"Sorry…but you know that as you age you shrink," it was pointless banter, but that's what Harry loved most about his godfather...despite everything, he still managed to be entertaining and somewhat cheerful, much like Ron.

"Oi! Watch it…I am _not _old, and I don't shrink. I think you need to learn how to respect your elders, young man" he grinned, reaching into his robes, "I've got a wand now so-"

"_Expelliarmus!" _

The wand flew straight from Sirius hand, and into Arabella Figg's.

Bella's face was sickly pale, her hand shook as she pointed her wand at Sirius and the other shook at her side as she held the other wand tightly. As she stood her legs seemed to buckle beneath her, Harry watched as Sirius moved to catch her, but she supported herself on the armrest of the chair and pointed her wand at his heart. An unexplainable pain shone through her piercing eyes as she stared at the dark haired man in front of her. Sirius arms remained outstretched as though he wanted to reach forward and support her as she leant on the armchair.

"Bella-" Sirius started in desperation, his voice agonised.

"Move away from him, now," although her body quivered as she spoke, her eyes remained on Sirius' face without blinking.

Harry placed himself in front of Sirius and took out his wand, placing it in Sirius' hand.

"Bella, _please_ sit down. Let me explain" said Harry.

"Harry do you know who this is? He killed your parents!" The hand holding her wand wavered slightly as Harry positioned himself between his godfather and the wand point.

"No, he didn't," he spoke quickly, "_Please, _you don't understand. Dumbledore didn't tell you about him…look, he's holding my wand and hasn't done anything. You have to believe me, he's innocent," Bella's teeth clenched and Harry spoke faster, "The Death Eater, last night…it was Pettigrew, Peter Pettigrew. In his animagus form, the rat, he was standing outside the house and when I tried to run after him he dove down the drains…Bella please, I know it's hard, but it's all true."

Sirius walked slowly towards the armchair behind Harry, and lowered himself in it. He flicked Harry's wand onto the floor at his feet and leant back, closing his eyes.

"It would have been nice to tell me that Arabella Figg was in the room, Harry. Trust Dumbledore, he told me to come straight in…" he murmured softly.

Harry too went to sit in his chair, picking up his wand as he passed Sirius.

Bella remained standing, "I don't understand," she whispered, her voice had lost its anger and fear, replaced with desperation and anguish.

"……how could Dumbledore just let me walk in like that? He could have least warned us; told the truth for a start," Sirius continued to murmur to himself.

Harry spoke up, "Bella, please sit down, I swear it's completely safe," she sat very slowly, her eyes did not leave Sirius and her wand remained in her hand, "…now, I know we owe you an explanation, but it will probably take a while, and I think it's better coming from Sirius."

He looked over at his godfather, who still had his eyes shut. His breathing was deeper than usual and he paused before looking over at Harry, then Bella. The cheerful smile that had been on his face earlier had vanished, his mouth was set in a grim line and his eyes became consumed by the darkness that Harry had seen lurking behind the earlier smiles. He bowed his head.

The story began painfully slowly, as though Sirius was trying hard to remember what he had attempted to forget . But after a few moments, his voice and manner became monotone, as though he were in a trance. Bella tried to interrupt a few times, as though desperate to prove that it was all wrong, that Pettigrew hadn't betrayed them like he had done and that she had not spent twelve years grieving because she thought _Sirius_ had betrayed them. He told of Pettigrew being made Secret Keeper without telling anyone, him going to the house to find Lily and James dead, baby Harry being taken away by Hagrid. He told of him being framed by Pettigrew, laughing hysterically at the irony, complete and utter grief and doom he was facing. He stopped there; looked away from both of them and blinked rapidly. Harry could see the trace of a tear glistening on his thick black eyelashes.

Harry looked over at Bella, her face was ashen and her lip trembling; she looked as if she could faint at any second. She was looking at Sirius in distress and with a grief–stricken expression.

Harry went to get up and go to Sirius, but Bella beat him to it. She walked over and kneeled before him, taking his hand in both hers and whispered softly to him. He didn't look back at her as she spoke, but when a sob escaped her lips, he looked back at her and pulled her into a tight embrace, she wrapped her arms around his neck and tears silently rolled down her cheeks.

Harry felt extremely uncomfortable, two close friends had just discovered each other again for the first time in twelve years, one thinking the other had been responsible for all the hurt and pain she had suffered, then discovering he had been wrongly accused and was innocent…it was not the sort of moment that should not be interrupted by him. He got up quietly and walked towards the stairs, as he ascended them he thought about what sort of relationship they had had when they were at school and after, by the look on Sirius face when he saw Bella for the first time, he cared about her very deeply. Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair, he was glad that they could have each other; Sirius needed all the people he could get to help him through the slow process of healing.

He walked into the fifth year dorms and saw his snake was still lying on the pillow, coiled up and asleep. Outside the sun had set, but it was still early, so Harry got out his homework and prepared for a long night.

. . . . . . . . x .. . . . . . .

The sun shone through his eyelids, making him groan and roll over, he was hot and his stomach was rolling painfully, so he pushed the covers down by his feet. Something tickled his ear, he went to swat it away, but it was persistent, Harry's eyelashes fluttered and he opened his eyes. Glasses were put in his hands, and he sat up to see a book and parchment next to him, he had fallen asleep whilst doing his homework. He turned with a glare to see what irritating creature had woken him up.

Sirius sat at his bedside smiling down at him affectionately. He said good morning, and when Harry asked how it had gone with Bella, his smile widened.

"It was hard at first, really hard, but once it had sunk in that I was there, I was innocent and I wasn't going to leave, she said it was as though a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. We talked all night."

He clapped his hands, "Now, do you feel like some breakfast in bed? I dunno about you, but I'm starving."

Before Harry could answer, a house elf came in like the speed of light, and deposited a tray full of orange juice, scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon, toast and beans right on his lap. The elf bowed to them both, then whizzed straight back out the room again.

Sirius licked his lips, "That's what I call servi-"

Harry cried out. The rolling in his stomach increased and the pain was sharp and sudden.

"What?" Sirius asked quickly, looking at his scar.

"My stomach…here….it hurts."

Pain. Harry wrapped his arms around his middle and shut his eyes tight, Sirius asked him what was wrong again…but after more failed attempts to help him, Harry opened his eyes to see Sirius transform and sprint out the door as Padfoot. He could hear the dog running along the corridor and assumed he had gone for Pomfrey.

After more groaning, Harry jumped as a scaly face appeared in front of his. The snake's tongue flicked out a couple of times and lightly touched Harry's nose.

"_Point out the pain," _he hissed.

Harry moaned as another surge of sharp pain grabbed him, and he pointed just above his pelvic bone.

The snake moved away from his face, and Harry felt him wrap his long body around his stomach. A warm feeling crept from his toes, up his legs and became hot at his abdomen…the pain eased. He looked down his body to see the snake wrapped tightly around his mid-section, a greenish yellow glow emitting from the long body and around the area where the pain was. Within a few seconds the pain was almost completely numbed, though there was still a soft, irritating throb. Whatever was happening was still happening, the pain had just gone.

Harry stared at the snake with his mouth open, "_What…? What just happened?"_

"_You suffered pain," _it hissed back.

Harry waved his hand, "_No, I know. I meant what did you do to me?"_

"_I repaid my debt to you. You took me from the dark place; I took away your pain."_

The snake's head bobbed in front of Harry, who assumed the 'dark place' was the pet shop. He was bewildered, he hadn't realised the snake had had any magical powers at all, let alone healing powers. In fact, he had never heard of a snake having healing powers …Harry thought it was time to find out a little more about what sort of snake he had brought to Hogwarts.

The sound of someone running made him jump suddenly…he quickly picked the snake up and told it to stay under the bed and not make a sound.

He sat up just in time to see Madame Pomfrey and Padfoot rush though the door. Sirius transformed quickly and rushed to Harry's side, asking where the pain was. Worried about his snake being discovered, Harry held his stomach gingerly and said it hurt.

Madame Pomfrey clicked her tongue, "Dear, oh dear. He's only been here five minutes and _already _he's got me rushing after him," she said.

She bustled over to him and pulled out her wand, muttering an incantation as she held it over his abdomen. Harry watched as the wand tip glowed white, and suddenly changed to a shocking pink.

"Ah, it's only appendicitis," she said cheerfully, "hold still Mr. Potter…"

She said a couple more incantations, whilst prodding his abdomen gently. Within a few seconds the throbbing stopped and any indication of the pain that had been there disappeared.

"All done," Pomfrey said.

Harry stared at her, "I thought appendicitis was kind of serious…my cousin was in hospital for ages with it."

"Don't be silly Mr. Potter. Muggles do not have the resources we do to make it a minor thing…like a cold perhaps."

"Right……"

"Indeed. Now, if you are not about to explode or get battered and bruised by evil forces any time soon, I have some potions I need to brew."

"Thanks," Harry called as she walked out the door.

Once she had left, Sirius looked hard at Harry, "You didn't half scare me…don't do that again, yeah?"

Harry rolled his eyes, "Okay, next time I'll look down at my appendix and say 'would you be so kind as to not do that?'…sorry don't think it will work somehow…"

"Whatever, Potter," Sirius growled, "…now get up and get ready, Dumbledore told me to remind you that he wants to see you in his office," he looked at his watch , "I better go too…I'm staying in Bella's quarters if you need me, alright?"

Harry nodded, resisting the urge to ask more about the accommodation.

Before Harry left, he told his snake to have whatever he wanted from the abandoned breakfast tray…and as he walked out he saw two surprisingly long fangs appear from the small mouth and devour a sausage.

. . . . . . . . x .. . . . . . .

The Gargoyle outside Dumbledore's office jumped aside before Harry uttered a word…he walked up the stairs and knocked on the door.

"Come in," called the Headmaster.

Harry pushed the door open and felt the familiar warmth of Dumbledore's presence as soon as he stepped in. His Headmaster was sitting in his chair behind the desk, and Fawkes stood on his perch. He trilled as Harry walked in.

"Hey Fawkes," greeted Harry as he passed.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, thank you for seeing me so soon. I believe you had a visit from your Godfather last night?"

Harry smiled, "Yes sir, it was good to see him…safe."

"I'm sure. Now, I think we should discuss what you will do while you're at Hogwarts, I have arranged for you to have extra lessons three times a week: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, Defence against the Dark Arts lessons. I think, giving recent events, it would be more than appropriate for you to be properly prepared for awkward circumstances, though I _hope _you will not be getting yourself into any. But given your previous record…." He trailed off.

Harry leaned back in his chair, trying not to smile too widely, _finally…something useful._

"Will the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher be teaching me?"

"No, no, I'm afraid not. That particular privilege is mine."

Harry's eyes widened…being taught defence by Dumbledore was about as good as it was going to get.

"Right then, the same rules apply now as they do during term time…no wandering around after hours etc. I think that's about it…as long as you have no questions?"

"I do have one question, sir," Harry thought this was a good time as any, "Why did you not tell Bella about Sirius...and details of the third task?"

The old sparkle came back into the Headmaster's eyes, "Now that _is _a difficult one to answer. I'm afraid to say that was not entirely my choice…it was Sirius himself who asked that she not be told. And she need not know until he was ready to tell her, for she has not been to Hogwarts for years and rarely has time to speak to Mr. Lupin. Sirius and Arabella were very close friends during and after Hogwarts, and he knows her better than most, and therefore knew that he would have to tell her himself, when he was ready. I agreed that this was fair. I trust you will also?"

Harry nodded, sort of understanding the logic…but wondering if Sirius had been slightly selfish in his thinking. Then again, Harry thought he was entitled to a bit of selfishness.

"If that is all…I will see you tomorrow in the Defence Against Dark Arts classroom at 8 o'clock pm. When term stands this will be put back to 9 o'clock."

"Yes sir, thank you," he walked over to the phoenix, "See you, Fawkes." Harry stroked the long, glittering feathers, then turned to the door and left.


	4. Canine

**_Chapter 4_**

The day seemed to dissolve quickly, and before he knew what was happening, it was the morning of the day he would have the Defence lesson with the Headmaster. Harry did not feel quite ready for it…it was a daunting prospect, being taught by one of the most powerful wizards in the world. The night before, Harry had received a note from Dumbledore, saying that he wanted to change the lesson times to 8 o'clock in the morning, rather than the evening…and Harry knew better than to question this.

Believing he had time for a shower, Harry tried to wash away his nerves, and stayed in it for longer than he had intended. Thoughts of what Dumbledore would dream up for him caused an irritating, nervous bubbling in his stomach.

After washing, grabbing his wand from his bed and putting it in its holder, Harry checked the time.

_7:58_

He had less than two minutes to get all the way to the other side of the castle. After swearing loudly, Harry threw open the door, making it bang noisily against the wall. He ran down the stairs two at a time, through the portrait hole and towards the DADA classroom.

By the time he reached the door to the classroom, his lungs were stinging painfully and he gulped air into his lungs. Once recovered, he turned to face the door.

As his fingers brushed against the cold brass doorknob, he felt a faint tingle shoot up his arm.

He noticed there was no light coming from inside, although it was a bright morning and the windows in the classroom were high and wide. He came to the conclusion that he was unlikely to receive a warm welcome when he entered.

Harry sighed, not thrilled at the possibility he was about to be cursed by a wizard as powerful, if not more so, than his enemy.

He moved away from the door, and pressed his back against the wall next to it, moving his foot and kicking the door open gently with his heel.

Nothing.

He quietly cast a Character Detecting spell, to see if there was a presence in the room.

Nothing.

He stood in the doorway…the room was, as he had thought, pitch black.

Harry thought better of using _lumos_…he knew, even though the Character Detecting spell had told him otherwise, that Dumbledore was in there, waiting for him. If he were to use _lumos_ he would immediately fail whatever test Dumbledore was setting for him.

Walking into the room slowly, he pressed his back against the wall and shut the door behind him, allowing himself to sink into the darkness. He side-stepped along the wall, following it carefully. Thinking quickly, he cast a minor protective shield around him to prevent mild hexes hitting him.Still nothing…it was complete silence; there was not even the usual, strange wave in the air that could be felt when there was someone nearby that you could not see.

Suddenly, a flash of light, Harry ducked and the curse missed his head by a few inches.

He remained in a crouched position with his wand in front of him, remaining as still as he could. He let the silence engulf him and dropped to his knees slowly, putting his hands out in front of him. He hardly knew what he was doing, but in the darkness, it was all he could think of. He closed his eyes, blocked off his sight, smell and touch…allowing every nerve in him to be sensitive to sound.

If he hadn't of been holding his breath, he would have missed the soft sound of robes brushing the floor on his far left.

With his eyes still shut, he pointed his wand in the direction of the sound.

"_Expelliarmus!"_ he shouted.

His eyes only opened when the sound of an object hissing through the air towards him reached his ears, he stretched out his hand, and the wand lay neatly in his grasp.

Next came two sharp claps, and the room sprung into light as the windows became visible. Shadows and objects leapt into his vision as the room came to life, and he jumped when he realised he was standing a few inches from a tank full of Nogboggers. He refrained from checking he still had a nose left, but realised the creatures were too busy sleeping to worry about removing it.

Professor Dumbledore was standing a few meters to his left, a satisfied smile brightening his features

"Well done, Harry, glad we got that bit over with quickly. I must say these robes have a knack of getting in the way…I'm afraid they can be rather noisy."

Harry raised an eyebrow.

He gave Dumbledore's wand back to him with a small smile, still trying to get his heart to slow down after the adrenaline rush.

"Now, let us not waste any time. Each second is as precious as the next," he lifted his wand in front of his face and gazed at it, "tell me, Harry; wands are our source of magic, are they not?"

Harry blinked and paused to muse over the answer…silently thanking Hermione for drilling this into his and Ron's heads.

"No sir, they're just what we channel the energy through."

"Good. The source and potential of our magic comes from here," he put his hand on his chest, "from inside. It lies in our skin…the wands are only used to divide the unconscious magic from the conscious, to keep it under control. When we are very young, we do not know how to keep control, just as a newborn does not know how to control various muscles. When we eventually become joined with our wands, we are able to harness the power. It could be said to be the 'lazy' way of performing magic, though it is still based on our ability to use it. Most wizards and witches would find it impossible to live easily in the magical world without their wand, they just could not be wandless."

Harry thought he had a good ides what the Headmaster was leading up to, these thoughts were confirmed when he plucked Harry's wand out of his hand and lay it down on the desk with his own.He continued, ""The magic in your blood is not the only thing needed to perform wandless magic. Of course it is the main component, but you also need your sight, hearing, touch and, most of all: instinct. This is how some muggles are able to perform 'strange' feats; they are able to manipulate their senses and concentrate extremely hard on moving or changing the shape of an object. Of course it is not nearly as powerful as wandless magic that a wizard performs, as they have only a minuscule amount of natural magic in their blood, but it is a form of it. Tell me; what did your instincts tell you to make you enter the room the way you did?"

Harry paused, "I went to open the door, but…I'm not sure how to explain it….it was kind of like a tingle inside."

"Yes, that was your intuition; your body was telling you that something inside this room was not as it should be; your gut feeling is a very important part of magic, and survival. During a fight, magic or non-magic, you have to go by what your heart tells you what to do; you can't just assume you know what the opponent is going to do next by conscious thought alone. That is where many people slip up; they ignore their own instinct and end up loosing the battle, possibly their lives."

Dumbledore stopped and started walking around the room, seemingly looking for something; he looked at a chair for a few moments before waving his hand over it, in an instant it had turned into a small rock.

Picking up the rock, he placed it on the desk next to him, nearest to where Harry was standing.

He then stood a few metres away from it and it flew into his hand without a word being uttered. He put it back on the desk and looked at Harry.

"Your turn."

Harry stared at him blankly for a few seconds.

_He must_ _be joking_, he thought to himself.

No more instruction came, so Harry stood where Dumbledore had and lifted his hands towards the rock, just as the Headmaster had done.

He stared at the rock, concentrating on the position of it, imagining it was moving off the desk and into his hands.

"_Accio!_" he called.

It didn't move.

"Not to worry," said Dumbledore, cheerfully, "that was your first time, you should not expect to get it straight away with no practice. We need to work on how you are controlling your magic, how to channel it. But first it is important you ignore your head and start listening to your senses, I do not think you trust them completely. You need to use the feeling to draw what you want out of your body and onto the force you want to manipulate. This time, let your body, not your mind, tell you what you need to do. Try doing what you did earlier when you first entered the room…close your eyes."

Harry wondered at the back of his mind whether Dumbledore had night vision as well as everything else…how did he know his eyes had been shut?

He did what he was told, and closed them. He tried to create a mental image of the position and distance that the rock was from him, once he had done that, he concentrated on his senses. Harry dimly noticed that his arm was moving: his fingers stretched so his palm was facing where he presumed the rock was. He tried to imagine that there was a connection, a cord, between his hand and the rock, his fingers bent, and his hand drew back a few centimetres, he repeated this again and again, until he felt a slight tugging on his finger tips, like string had wrapped around each one of them and an object was tied to each piece. Once again, he drew his hand back. He was about to shout the summoning spell, but when he felt the invisible cord snap, he opened his eyes.

Still nothing had happened.

"Well done Harry," Dumbledore smiled widely, Harry raised his eyebrows in confusion.

"For what?"

"Casting wandless magic…the air around your rock shuddered," his smile widened.

Harry looked again, and decided to take the Headmaster's word for it.

He turned as Dumbledore placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Very good, Harry. There are some wizards who can do that easily if they are given the proper instruction and guided on what they should feel…but I am sure we can take you beyond that, given time."

Three and a half hours later, Harry had managed to make contact with the rock, and it had moved towards him about an inch…which, according to the Headmaster, was good.

He felt exhausted when he returned to his dorms; even though the work had not been physical…it had still been tiring. Dumbledore had told him that training to perform wandless magic was no different to getting physically fit…his body would have to adapt to channelling its own magic.

He fell onto his bed with a satisfied grunt. An irritating emptiness filled his stomach, informing him he needed food. Harry was not happy about it, because the Dark Art's classroom was much closer to the kitchens than the common room was, more walking was not what he wanted. Harry was even more irritated because his legs were like dead weights, he thought it was strange that he had been using his arm all lesson and his legs hadn't even come into it, but nonetheless, they were determined to make the long trek down to the kitchens that much harder. Before he rose from his bed, the snake at the end of it looked up at him.

"_You need to hunt," _it hissed at him.

Harry shook his head, "_Humans do not hunt for food_," he thought about the snake's remark, _"…some hunt…but not for food, just because they find pleasure in killing."_

The snake seemed curious about this, _"I thought food was the only pleasure brought by killing."_

Harry gave a wry smile, _"I wish_ _others thought like that."_

There was a short silence, in which the snake stared hard at Harry, before voicing its thoughts, _"Humans confuse me…it seems they break many moral laws. In the kingdom of other creatures, there should be an appropriate reason to kill. This is what made me curious about the Calling; it seemed to be calling for assistance that was bound with death. I trust there was an appropriate reason for this."_

Harry stared at the snake, his eyes dark. He blinked and looked away.

"_There is no good reason for the deaths He wants to cause. Just evil and greed. The wizard calling you wants snakes to help Him do whatever it is He intends to."_

"_Tell me about the wizard."_

Harry frowned when he felt the cold hand grip his gut as he thought about speaking out loud about the past. Much like Sirius had with Bella, Harry spoke as though in a trance…explaining to the snake about who the Dark Lord was, and what he had done to the Wizarding World.

It felt strange, but oddly liberating to talk to the creature…he knew he would not be judged or misguided about the snake's feelings. It was not sympathetic as a human would be…but rational and belied Voldemort's views and actions. It was also blunt, and after hours of talking and explaining nearly Harry's entire life story, the snake seemed to frown in curiosity.

"_Are you afraid you will die?" _it asked.

Harry looked at it sharply, never in his time in the wizarding world had he been asked such a…direct question.

"_I…I'm not sure," _he whispered in a low hiss, barely moving his lips, "_…I don't think I'm afraid to actually die…"_ he trailed off, lost in his own thoughts.

"_Then what do you fear?"_

"_I was told in my third year that I'm most afraid of actual fear…but things have changed since then and I think now I'm terrified of failure,"_ Harry hissed darkly.

The snake nodded, understanding, and the two fell into silence…Harry noticed that it was dark outside, and the hunger pangs had turned into painful cramps.

"Time for me to hunt," he said aloud to himself.

The snake wished to see more of the castle, so Harry allowed it to slip into his robe pocket until he got down into the kitchens. Once he was ready, he knelt in front of his trunk.

He lifted the cool, shimmering material out if it gently, allowing the fabric to run through his fingers like water.

Harry threw the Invisibility Cloak around him and vanished the moment it came into contact with his body.

The trip down to the kitchens was far easier than it had ever been during term time…he brushed past Mrs. Norris once, and a short sharp hiss from the snake inside his pocket soon sorted her out. Harry had only just managed to stop himself laughing aloud at the mangy cat's expression.

The House Elves were almost wild with delight when they saw him, Dobby threw himself at Harry, and even though he was small, the elf almost knocked him over. Tears ran down the little creature's face in sheer happiness.

"Oh! It's so good seeing Harry Potter back to be safe in Hoggiewarts again! I only says to Winky the other day, I says 'I hope we be seeing Harry Potter here with Dumblydore again'!"

Harry smiled, "Thanks, Dobby. I was wondering if you had any dead mice, or insects…and maybe some left over food for me?"

The House Elf froze and seemed slightly taken aback by his strange request, but nonetheless brought his order after no more than a few seconds.

He sat at a table directly under where the Gryffindor table would be, marked with red and gold, and lifted the snake out of his pocket, allowing it to gorge the dead mice.

The bustling sounds in the kitchen came to an abrupt halt…and Harry looked up in time to see every last House Elf completely frozen in the middle of whatever they were doing. Then, came one loud screech.

All the Elves shrunk away in terror at the sight if the snake, and tried to pull Harry away from the offending creature, screaming that it was dangerous and would do much harm.

After what seemed like a lifetime, they eventually calmed down after an explanation and reassurances from Harry.

The look the snake was giving the Elves reminded Harry instantly of Draco Malfoy…he scoffed, and thought a moment about naming the creature that, but decided the snake was far too good for such a dirty name. At that point he realised he _should_ probably give it name, not wanting to be calling it 'snake' forever.

After their meal, Harry thanked the House Elves again, whose eyes began to feel up in gratitude at his praise….Harry darted out of the kitchens quickly before they all jumped on him again.

He made it to the bottom of the stairs in the Great Hall without incident, but just as he arrived at them he felt a strange _tug_. He made to take another step but froze when he realised Filch was entering the Great Hall from the grounds. He felt the strange feeling again and remained completely still as Filch passed, who was calling for his cat. The cool breeze from outside caressed his face, and he felt better for it as the kitchens had been unbearably hot. He sighed and walked to the doors that were open slightly, stepping out onto the top stone step.

The night air hit him instantly, and he breathed it in deeply. He then looked across at the grounds, which were set alight as the moon was particularly bright and in the perfect position to allow him to see reasonably well. The lake was still, but reflected the light, and the tree tops were swaying gently in the breeze. Much was still.

The silence was broken by a distant howl…Harry did not recognise it as being the howl of a werewolf, there was less pain and anger in the sound.

A sudden warm sensation hit him, contrasting heavily with the cold. He felt the same tug and found his eyes drawn to the forest. He made sure he was completely covered as the fine hairs on the back of his neck stood on end…he was being watched.

His eyes adjusted to the dark shadows of the forest, but they did not have to work hard to pick out the pair of crystal blue eyes shining at him from the brush.

...x...

He jumped as he caught the gaze, and froze for a few seconds. The eyes were cool and calm, and moved slowly. As they moved closer, a form appeared as a silhouette against the dark surroundings, and it stepped into the moonlight.

It was a huge wolf. Immediately images of werewolves raced through his minds eye, pictures from textbooks, and the memory of what Remus had looked like when he changed. None of these images, however, matched what he was seeing…the animal seemed to be entirely wolf…if not very large and intimidating.

The animal was jet black, which contrasted with its big, bright eyes. Harry saw more of it as it stalked through the undergrowth, each paw being placed with precision and touching the ground lightly and soundlessly. The movements and pose of the animal reminded Harry more of a big cat than a canine…the weight was being absorbed through its paws and its shoulders stuck out as it stalked in a half crouched position.

The peculiar eyes did not once break contact with Harry's own…which he found oddly unnerving as he was _supposed_ to be invisible. As the animal moved closer Harry became torn between what to do…he was sure the wolf was not regarding him as prey, because as it got closer it stopped stalking and stood tall, wagging its tail gently and pulling its ears back much like Harry had often seen Padfoot do. He considered whether this was some sort of sick hunting tactic…but abandoned that thought as he did not feel at all threatened…just anxious.

A few meters from the bottom stone step, the wolf stopped and lowered its body to the ground graciously…resting its large head on its front paws. The tail continued to wag slowly.

Harry was jolted from his trance-link, frozen state, when he felt the pressure of the snake stirring in his pocket. He believed the snake was wise enough to know about much of the animal kingdom. and had much heightened senses than him. Careful not to disturb his invisibly cloak, Harry lifted the snake out of his pocket and turned its head so it faced the wolf below.

"_Tell me…am I to fear this creature?"_

The snake responded nearly instantly, _"There is nothing to fear…he wishes to help."_

Harry frowned at the strange response, but nonetheless put the snake back in his pocket.

There was no reason to distrust the snake, so he slowly forced his legs to move and descended the steps hesitantly. A voice in the back of his head was telling him he was crazy, he'd finally lost it…he should have turned and gone back inside instead of getting himself into deeper trouble…but Harry thought about Dumbledore's words and told his mind to shut it.

He kept the cloak tightly wrapped around him, and allowed his hand to slip into his under-cloak and grip his wand tightly. Once he reached the bottom of the stone steps, he silently stepped onto the grass and crouched into a squatted position, lowering himself to the wolf's level. For a few agonizing moments, in which Harry got painful cramp in both legs, the wolf regard him with a steady, intelligent, almost curious gaze. Harry blinked and nearly fell back when the animal lifted his huge form off the ground. His tail wagged, and Harry thought it was a good time to allow his legs to function again, so stood too.

He became bemused when the wolf turned away from him and trotted off, paused and looked back, walked away again, and looked back. Harry stared at the animal, completely torn with what he should do. When the animal repeated the behaviour, he stepped forward and followed the wolf into the forest, throwing caution to the wind and trusting his instincts. After all, it _was_ what Dumbledore kept telling him to do.

A few steps into the forest, however, and Harry was not nearly so confident. It was as if his rational side had finally got to him, and he evaluated the situation again.

_This is insane, _he thought to himself, _keep this sort of stuff up, and I _will _get myself killed._

Harry paused…the wolf sensed his unease, and walked straight up to him, growling low. A strange surge jolted Harry in the stomach, his unease fell away, and he was suddenly ten times more confident than he had been. This did not tempt him though, and he nearly gave into the urge to turn and run back.

"_Do not fear it,"_ a hiss came from his pocket, _"he is the light's ally."_

Harry pulled out his wand and sighed; the wolf wagged his tail and turned away, walking deeper into the forest. Harry followed close behind him, reminding himself how mad he was with each step.

It was practically impossible, trying to climb through the undergrowth, stop his cloak getting snagged, follow a dark wolf in a dark forest _and _watch for anything that might want to kill him, but Harry kept at it as best he could, suppressing his grunts and grumbles.

As the foliage thickened, Harry became weary at how deep they were going into the forest, but this train of thought stopped when they came to a small clearing. A huge fallen tree was lying across the clearing, it was hollow inside, and was covered in moss and mud…leaves were scattered everywhere, and there was a skull of a small animal lying nearby, which Harry tried to ignore.

The trees only circled the area, so there was nothing covering the sky, which could be seen clearly…the moon shone on them as bright as it had done out of the forest. Feeling satisfied that he was able to, he slid off the invisibility cloak…the black wolf stared at him in that curious, intelligent way.

Harry heard a scuffle and scratching, and he raised his wand. He lowered it, however, when three wolf pups scrambled out of the fallen tree. They were small and brown, with black tipped ears and one had a white belly…they ignored Harry completely, and greeted the black male wolf at his side, then ran to the other side of the clearing. Harry's eye's widened slightly as he realised the pups had run to greet four other wolves that had just stepped into the clearing.

One was undoubtedly female, she was smaller and slighter then the males. She was a beautiful mixture of slate and light greys, browns and whites, with small black patches around her yellow eyes and a long, elegant body, with black tipped ears like the pups. The other three near to her had a similar colouring, but were mainly grey.

After the greeting, the she-wolf growled and nipped one of the pups, sending them back inside the tree. The four adults looked at him wearily, and one growled in warning. The she-wolf caught the eyes of the male standing next to Harry, seeking his guidance. She seemed to get what she wanted from him, and walked over to Harry with another male, sniffing the air around him.

Seeming satisfied with what they had found, the two turned away and lay silent nearby.

For the second time since he had left the castle, Harry felt the snake stirring in his pocket. He pulled it out slowly, not wanting to alarm the wolves, but the two that were lying down stood up immediately with their haunches raised…they fell silent though, after the black male growled at them.

"_I have heard tales of this forest,_" the snake hissed, flicking its tongue curiously, _"…many of the creatures here live in fear of the Dark Lord you have spoken of…they feel his poison strikes too close… but there is another presence. The Lord of the Forest, known as Silvanus…or The Black Wolf. He has brought you here for a reason unknown to me, but he is worthy of your utmost respect."_

Harry raised his eyebrows at the snake's words. He looked up at the wolf standing near him, and saw him in a new light…he inclined his head in acknowledged respect, feeling much more secure about the situation than he had previously. He knew snakes could be wise, and from what Harry had been told by the one he was holding, wizards and witches were not the only ones being directly affected by Voldemort's possible oncoming reign…it seemed Silvanus, _Lord of the Forest _as the snake had put it, was feeling this as much as Harry was…and he knew at that moment he had found an ally in the animal.

After a moments pause, in which Harry collected his thoughts, he stared directly at Silvanus and licked his dry lips in nervousness….there was a powerful air about the wolf in front if him that demanded attention and complete deference.

Silvanus trotted over to him, stopped very close and stared.

Harry blinked and fought the urge to look away from the piercing gaze….the blue eyes were regarding him in a manner that reminded him eerily of Dumbledore. The same knowingness, wisdom…likeability shone through them. The wolf let out a small, quiet whimper and pushed his nose towards Harry, who got the hint and stretched his hand out towards him.

"I'm trusting you…" he murmured softly,"…_not _to rip my hand off."

Harry closed the gap and his fingers brushed against Silvanus' head. As soon as skin made contact with fur, Harry felt a prickling sensation at the tips of his fingers, which disconcerted him slightly.

He moved his hand across to the wolf's ears and rubbed gently, Silvanus lifted his head and rested it on Harry's outstretched arm…who noted how huge his head was compared to his Aunt Marge's psychotic bulldog, Ripper.

The forest was more silent than Harry had expected, from outside all sorts of noises could usually be heard…but the night seemed to be frozen in a quiet stupor.

As if responding to his thoughts, a loud howl sounded in the distance…from what Harry could tell the sound could have come from a hundred metres or a hundred yards, the loudness was the same all around. The two wolves that had been lying down nearby shot up onto their feet at the first murmur of the howl…their ears pricked up, their tails rose and they raised their muzzles into the air as though trying to sense where the sound was coming from. Seconds later it came again, but it was louder, seemingly nearer…and deeper. The two wolves shot their heads to Silvanus and growled at him.

The latter wolf turned his back to Harry and his body was also standing to attention. He made Harry jump when he let out a half-bark, half-howl sound….the two listened for a response from the distant wolf…and when none came, they sprung into action and pelted into the bush, disappearing instantly.

Silvanus turned back to Harry and his eyes shot to his quickly…he then manoeuvred so he was standing at Harry's side, just reaching his hip in height. the sound of branches colliding with things reached Harry's ears, and as the sound of the howling wolves became clearer as they got closer, Silvanus' head lowered as he crouched…his body prepared like a coiled spring, ready to strike.

By now Harry had thrown the invisibility cloak around him, feeling the tension, and reminding himself how much of an idiot he was for following Silvanus into the forest. He pulled out his wand and held it in front of him, his eyes and ears searching for the howling wolves that were approaching.

It suddenly became silent again….but more so than it had before…there was no rustling of the trees or stirring of the wind.

The icy hand gripped at Harry's heart before he could think about the scene. The iron grip was choking, and his stomach churned…he breathed out and his breath became steam as it hit the air.

Whispers…all around him, he was drowning in them. He became desperate, he could not see the Dementor through all the trees and foliage, he had nowhere to aim his patronus.

He tried hard to clear his mind, fighting against every word screamed at him. Six wolves bounded into the clearing, turning instantly as they entered. The she-wolf and other male were amongst them, they were all snarling and snapping aggressively.

The Dementor floated into the clearing opposite to where Harry was standing. Silvanus tore from his side and joined his wolves, barking at them and snarling at the Dementor.

"No, not Harry, please – take me instead…"

"Stand aside"

"Kill the spare."

"Lily – take Harry"

The whispers in his head clashed with the softer, reassuring murmur that had always helped him produce his patronus. It told him to be strong, fight back…the tall robed figure floated closer, and a white scaly hand appeared from under the cloak…its fingers curling as they stretched to reach Harry.

The wolves had retreated with the Dementor back to where Harry was standing, and had formed a semi-circle around him, warning and threatening the Dementor as it got closer.

There was nothing the animals could do to harm the Dementor, so with this in mind, Harry shut his eyes tight and forced himself to fight against the emotional agony ripping through his head.

The dementor would not give up, it tried to push pass the protective circle to get to him, but Harry fought harder, and readied his wand.

"_Expecto Patronum_!" he shouted, pouring the whispers into the spell.

A great stag materialized out of the end of his wand, it gracefully landed on the ground in front of the robed creature. It reared up, kicking its front legs and thrusting its antlers, the dementor turned and let out a horrible sound of what could be described as rage, before it disappeared into the forest. The stag tore after it….and returned moments later, it looked at Harry, before vanishing.

Harry fell to his knees onto the cold grass…each time he performed that spell he forgot how much it took out of him. He was suddenly exhausted.

_Where the hell did that thing come from? _He thought furiously.

A nose pressed against his cheek, and Harry turned to see Silvanus standing next to him, his eyes filled with question. Harry smiled slightly and stroked the wolf in thanks.

Silvanus stepped back from him suddenly, and tilted his head so his muzzle rose as high as it could. The wolf let out a deep breath through a long and powerful howl. Harry could feel the sound moving in his chest, and he thought for a few seconds that he could actually feel his ear drums vibrating.

He listened in wonder as the howl started low and deep, then rose in frequency and force. The others in the clearing joined in…each note of their song looped together by each wolf. The forest vibrated with the sound, Harry's skin tingled and he smiled.

The moon sat on its bed of rippled clouds and shone down onto the clearing, praising and drawing the song out of them.

It lasted for longer than Harry knew, and by the time he returned to his dorms…he fell asleep before he fell on his bed.

. . . . . . . . x. . . . . . . . .

It was about 12 o'clock when Harry finally decided to make his presence known to the world; he crawled out of bed, struggled into the shower and left it to the cold burst of water on his skin to wake him up.

He had had no control over falling asleep the night before, it seemed that the last few day's activities had caught up with him, and he was in such a deep sleep that even the hands of nightmares and visions would not have been able to get hold of him.

Harry had spent much of the night with the pack. After the dementor he had wanted to leave, but the rest of the pack had returned and started to show a particular interest in him, and after taking note of the size of most of them, Harry was not about to disappoint them by leaving. There were ten other adults and four pups. The youngsters had tried to escape from their den in the fallen tree, but they had been frequently reprimanded by their mother and relatives that they eventually gave up. The older members of the pack had surrounded Harry and spent most of the time sniffing around him and prodding him with their noses.

Harry heaved a great yawn, and threw on some clean clothes. He decided to go to the library to get some work done, as their was little else to do.

The snake had remained coiled up at the bottom of his bed all night, reminding Harry of a strange, legless lapdog. He put the serpent into its usual place inside his pocket and made his way down to the kitchens.

He encountered Professor McGonagall for the first time since his arrival at Hogwarts, in the Entrance Hall. She smiled at Harry, one of her tight-lipped, rigid smiles. She asked how he was, to which Harry replied that he was fine; she, like Dumbledore, seemed older and more strained than before. Harry wondered why he hadn't seen the rest of the teachers yet; he had expected to see them wandering the halls just as frequently as they would during term. Not that he was complaining: he had no overwhelming desire to see Snape.

Once again the House Elves greeted Harry warmly; Dobby was insanely happy that he was visiting twice in two days and they forced all the food they could down him…he tried numerous times to make a quick escape.

The sight of the library reminded him of Hermione and Ron, the times they had been in there trying to solve some dark, most of the time deadly, mystery; it brought an odd feeling of comforting familiarity.

Making his way past shelf after shelf of books, one section caught his eye; _Magical Creatures_.

He ran his finger over each book, looking for the ones he wanted; and eventually pulled out, "_What to make of your snake_"," _Slippery serpents_"," _What snake are YOU keeping?"_ and, "_Poisonous and Exquisite snakes_."

Sitting down at table at the back of the library, Harry began to read.

He read through two books, not finding anything that remotely resembled his snake.

He came to "_Poisonous and Exquisite Snakes_", and paused at a page.

"……………_The Medeor Sanatio snake is related to the common Corn snake (Elaphe guttata guttata). Despite the fact that they are distinctly similar looking, the Corn Snake and the Medeor Sanatio Snake are very different in character. The Corn Snake has no magical ability, whereas the Medeor Sanatio has few, but efficient powers. They are rarely kept as pets as they are very scarce in the wild - their blood is used in healing potions._

_When the snake is injured or ill, It will use the magic in it's blood to heal itself, this magic will prove effective for minor and some larger injuries; but is not strong enough to save its own, or anyone else's life._

_They have an extremely short temper, another reason for their rarity as houses pets; they are not afraid to use their long fangs and powerful constriction if it will work to their advantage. However, there have been cases where the Medeor Sanatio and people have lived quite harmoniously, if the snake has a close relationship with it's owner, it will help them in time of need; during illnesses or injury…_

…_Hatchlings range in size from 5 to 8 inches. Adults range in size from 12 to 16 inches at maturity. Adult snakes feed on mice, rats, birds, and lizards by suffocating the prey with their strong coils. Food items are swallowed whole and digested efficiently. Medeor Sanatio's are accomplished climbers as well as adept burrowers, so most small mammals or birds are possible meals for them. They have a Jacobsan organ that helps them pick up smells and chemical particles………"_

There was a picture of a small snake, bigger than his own, but with a more striking pattern. It was bright orange, with yellow stripes: the yellow stripes were lined with a light green colour.

Harry looked around to make sure no teachers or anyone was around, and pulled out the snake that was nestled in his inside pocket. Putting it on the desk in front of him, Harry compared the one in the picture, and the real snake that was in front of him; their shape was exactly the same, and even the colouring had some kind of similarity. Both had orange, green and yellow markings.

Harry was pretty convinced that the snake he had bought was a Medeor Sanatio; the book said what happened when the snake healed itself or others, and it described exactly what had happened when it wrapped itself around Harry, the light glow that had emitted from the body and the feeling that had crawled up Harry's own body.

Glad to have finally found out what snake he was keeping, Harry put the books back on the shelf. The short temper part reminded Harry of what he had seen in the shop…an incident which he had forgotten about. The snake had been anything but moody and aggressive towards him.

As he was walking back to his table, he glanced at a few titles…and one caught his eye, _"Coluber – king of serpents"_

At that instant, Harry knew what to call his snake. It did not, apparently, have a name…so he had decided to find one, seeing as he couldn't keep calling it 'snake'.

Harry caught the snake's attention with a hiss.

"_I have a name for you," _the snake looked up in interest, "_Col…short for Coluber."_

"_That is a worthy name," _it replied simply.

Harry nodded, satisfied at last.

Hours later, after he had completed nearly all of his homework, save Potions and Divination, he sat back in the uncomfortable wooden chair, and massaged his temples; he had a dire headache.

He folded his arms in front of him and rested his aching head on them; the throbbing in his head had nothing to do with his scar, he knew it was just fatigue. Harry had not realised how tired he was until he lay his head down, his eyelids became instantly heavy, and they fluttered until they eventually closed.

The patter of a spiders feet crawling across the stone wall, the howl of the wind outside the castle and the birds flying outside the window were the only sounds Harry could hear. Each sound moulded into one, until they all whirled inside his head.

Tiredness over took him, and he fell into a restless sleep.

He began to dream.


	5. In Search

…_Stonewalls, tapestries and torches on the walls guided the way through corridor after corridor. Harry recognised the layout and décor as Hogwarts almost immediately. He also realised that his feet were carrying him swiftly towards the Gryffindor common room. From what he could tell he was in his own body, though he had no control over where he was going. _

_Eventually he approached what _should _have been the Fat Lady, but there was no trace of her…in her place stood a large portrait of a lion's golden head. It was held within a gold frame and was set on a red background. If no one knew where the Gryffindor common room was, this made it blatantly obvious._

_The lion tilted its head slightly to look at Harry, its sharp, golden eyes fixed on him._

"_Password?" it growled._

_Harry felt his mouth open, and his lips form the word that came out in a whisper, "Sophos."_

_The eyes shut momentarily as it inclined its head to Harry, and the portrait swung open._

_The common room, unlike the entrance to it, was not entirely different to how Harry knew it. The furnishings seemed more…fresh, as though they were newly carved. A large desk was near one of the windows, it was medieval looking, with huge wooden legs and designs were carved meticulously down the sides. Everything in the room was red and gold, naturally, and the large fireplace currently had a roaring fire inside, and two comfortable armchairs that were not usually there stood in front of it. A small table separated them, and there was a chessboard on it._

"_I did wonder about your arrival, Mr. Potter. I have been awaiting your visit for some time."_

_If Harry could have, he would have started at the voice, though only his mind did so. The voice came from the occupant of one of the armchairs in front of the fire, the one facing him. _

_The face of the speaker was shrouded in darkness as he sat back in the armchair, though after speaking, he leaned forward slightly, and the burning fire threw his face into light._

_Harry felt wary. He had learned the hard way not to trust anyone or anything that appeared to him in dreams; it would usually turn into a nightmare or graphic vision._

_The man had wavy, sandy-brown hair, and Harry could see his eyes were a deep, soft and dark brown. Those eyes were fixed on the chessboard currently occupying the small table. He had one arm rested on his knee, with his chin resting on his open palm. He spoke again, though his eyes remained still._

"_There is no need to feel suspicious, my boy. I am here to offer help, not inflict harm. You obviously do not know who I am, and from this I shall presume you do not recognise me. I am Godric Gryffindor, one of the four founders of this school, and founder of your house, I believe. Am I correct in my knowledge that you are the son of James and Lily Potter?" _

_Harry nodded mutely._

"_I am supposing your curiosity is about to reach its peak, for I have not told you why I have met you in this dream. Take a seat."_

_Harry walked closer to Gryffindor, feeling awed that the man who had once been so influential and phenomenally powerful, much like Dumbledore, was sitting a few feet from him. Harry dropped into the chair opposite him. But through the wonder, the suspicion still remained at the back of his mind._

_After a few minutes silence, Harry felt himself shifting uncomfortably, eager to break the silence._

"_Do you play chess Mr. Potter?"_

_Harry blinked, "……sometimes."_

"_An intriguing game," only when he began to speak of the game that had enthralled him before did he look up, "It seems strange that the aims and tactics of the game are similar to life…light fights dark, as good fights evil, some moves and miscalculated decisions result in the loss of a piece…loss of a life. The different pieces have different purposes, a hierarchy, much like people."_

_He passed his open palm over the chessboard slowly. The pieces immediately moved into action. The white tried desperately to protect and save its own, but the opposing side was ruthless, sacrificing its pawns and other pieces, and moving further forward on the board, whilst the bigger, more flexible white pieces advanced forward to protect the smaller pieces. _

_Gryffindor sighed, and passed his hand over the board once more, making the pieces return to their starting positions. He then picked up the two kings and placed them in the middle of the board._

"_These are the power source of the game; each side must fight to protect their own king, but must also fight their opponent. It is strange that such a protected figure can do little more than the lowly pawns of the game…the king cannot rule without protection and assistance. Do you think this is what causes worlds to collide? Defence, anger, greed, insanity, belief, or just pure evil? You must remember that the good fight and take lives too, even if it is for protection. Why is there always a constant battle between the two? Unlike chess…the evil of this world sees no rules and will not consider the less important figures that are sacrificed."_

_Gryffindor stood and walked closer to the fire. He stared into the flames, and he placed both hands on the fireplace, turning his back to Harry. For his part, Harry noted how big Gryffindor was, and he vaguely wondered if he had once played Quidditch._

"_I imagine you have enemies, everyone has that misfortune. I know that it is no secret that Salazar Slytherin and I do not agree on many things, if any. He has firm beliefs, and I have mine. Generally wizards of the light and dark do not share much in common, as we do not. I know of your enemies, Mr. Potter…you have many, most if which you have not met and are not aware of. There is one, however, one dark wizard whose soul is consumed by darkness, just as his ancestor's was."_

_He turned suddenly and stood over Harry, his eyes had a strange light._

"_This wizard, the Dark Lord of your time…he has struck despair and hurt into the lives of many, including yours. I see most of your life is as it is because of the actions of this wizard. You want to stop him from doing more?"_

_Harry's head raced. His lips moved slightly as though he wished to speak, but could not think of the words. This was more than a dream._

_He nodded slowly, "…… if it wasn't for him I wouldn't be who I am…and I do want…need, I _need_ to stop him. I just don't know if I can. Everything is fading; I can feel it all starting to fall apart already. I mean, what can I really do? I'm not even of age…and even if I was…" he trailed off, "…perhaps even Dumbledore can do nothing, maybe no one can."_

_Gryffindor moved and sat back in the chair, he stared at Harry intently for a few moments and sighed._

"_Even in the darkest of times, the darkest of worlds, there is always a flicker of hope. It may be small and hard to discern, but it remains…it remains to be used and enforced until it becomes stronger. You must make use of it."_

_Harry stared hard. What did it all mean? Everyone around him had always tried to tell him he was something special, relied and assumed he could be some sort of saviour, since the day he got his scar. An unexpected surge of anger and frustration coursed through him, and his breath caught._

_He felt his mouth moving to form the thoughts he was thinking._

"_How can I do that if I have no idea what's going on? I know next to nothing about my family…people are always saying I'm this and I'm that…the great Boy-Who-Lived who did something so great, something I can only remember when a Dementor is near. Voldemort made one mistake and I spend the rest of my life paying for it, he keeps coming at me again, relentless until he gets me, all out of spite for _his own _mistake. People think I'm so great? Yet because of me all of this is happening. Maybe when they start gushing about what I did that was so wonderful, they should look at the rest of it…see what I've really achieved."_

_Harry paused and looked into the fire, when he looked up he saw Gryffindor was watching him with a strange expression._

"_Has anyone ever told you what they find when they look in your eyes?"_

_Harry felt his eyebrows knit together in question._

_Once again Gryffindor rose, he strode towards Harry and stopped in front of him. He reached out and pressed his finger against Harry's chin, lifting it so he met his eyes._

"_You have an intricate mind, Mr. Potter. You are good at masking what you feel…you are well experienced. Nevertheless, when you were speaking, it all came pouring out and everything you truly feel was reflected in your eyes. Pain, anger, loneliness, uncertainty…strength, nobility, determination and honour. A dangerous mix, one that must be carefully handled. _

"_Every day a battle rages within you. Ever since you were a young child it has done so, but the choices you have made helped you develop into the person you are today. The power of the light is extinguishing the darkness in you…do not look so surprised. You think everyone is purely good or evil? People are more complicated than that, Mr. Potter, we must forge are own beliefs and choose the side we deem to be right. We are not born with that ability."_

_Harry frowned again, "Why am I having this…dream. Why did you want to talk to me?" he whispered._

"_The sorting hat," he steered from Harry's question slightly, " What did it tell you when you placed it on your head?"_

"_That I would do well in Slytherin, it could lead me to greatness…but I chose Gryffindor."_

"_Yes," Gryffindor looked away from Harry and tapped his chin as he spoke, more to himself than Harry, "Damn Slytherin, damn him," he spat._

"_There's more to it…isn't there?"_

"_You are going to wake soon. You want these questions answered…you know to whom you should speak with. Ask about the trees. Goodbye, my boy…I hope we will meet again."_

_He placed a hand on Harry's head and touched his scar lightly with his thumb._

"_The symbol of union," he whispered darkly to himself._

_Darkness engulfed Harry and his body lurched back into awareness. His eyelashes fluttered against his skin, and he opened his eyes._

The headache had gone, and the now fully awake Harry looked outside the window…the sky was turning orange and beginning to darken.

Vivid images of the dream raced through his head. Gryffindor's words struck him as though he was standing in front of him once more, and Harry blinked as he realised exactly what Gryffindor had told him to do. Knowing who to turn to with questions was no problem, Dumbledore was the most obvious choice.

He felt disgruntled that he had woken up at the peak of his conversation with Gryffindor, and on the way to Dumbledore's office, Harry wondered with slight unease whether the dream really had any meaning to it. Could it have been simply that…a dream, invented inside his own head to reflect his own thoughts? Could the reason he awoke at that exact moment be because his own mind did not know the answer to the question he had asked, so could not invent an answer?

But the voice in his head told him to stop being so cynical. It wasn't the first time information was passed to him when he was asleep, and would not be the last. He did exactly what Dumbledore was always telling him to do…trust his instinct.

. . . . . . . . X. . . . . . . . .

He paused in front of the Gargoyle, his mouth opened but he swallowed whatever he was about to say when he realised he had no idea what the password was.

"Lemon drops…?" he tried hopefully.

Nothing.

"Chocolate frog? Fizzing Whizzbies…?"

Harry ran through every sweet he could think of and still could not get any closer to the Headmaster's office. After his many failed attempts, Harry stepped close to the gargoyle and glared at it in frustration. He rolled his eyes, "Okay. This is beyond stupid…how many times have in been here? A hundred? You should be used to seeing me by now. Can't you just…_move_…?"

Still no movement, so Harry stood back and glared at it again.

"I'm afraid it dislikes persuasion," Harry whirled around to see Dumbledore behind him. Next to him was a stony-faced Severus Snape….Harry just managed to suppress a groan.

"You wish to see me, Harry?"

"Yes, sir," he knew it may be a bad time, but he was going to ask the questions now…Snape was _not _going to stop him.

The Headmaster did not turn him away, and instead welcomed him warmly up to his office. When inside, Harry accepted the offered seat in front of Dumbledore's desk, though Snape declined and the two men remained in the doorway conversing in low tones.

Harry ears strained beyond their normal reach, and managed to pick out small pieces of conversation.

"---low profile."

"…suspicious, but I'm regaining…."

"…wait a few days…"

Before Snape left, Dumbledore laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently, muttering something quietly to him and offering a smile. Snape nodded in acknowledgment and left in a swirl of black robes. Harry resisted the urge to frown, once more wondering what made Dumbledore so trusting to a man everyone else disliked.

The Headmaster sighed deeply before he turned back to Harry. He sat at his desk and folded his hands on the desk in his lap and leaned back in the chair, asking what he could do for Harry.

"I had a….dream."

"A dream? Unlike the others I presume?"

"Yes. I've never had one like it before…this time I was actually involved, but not in the normal way."

The Headmaster leaned forward and rested his elbows on the desk, folding his hands together; he nodded his head at Harry.

"I fell asleep in the Library, and dreamt I was walking to the Gryffindor common room. The entrance was different, the Fat Lady wasn't there, instead it was a big lion head. When I got in there was a man sitting by the fire….Godric Gryffindor."

Harry paused so he could judge the Headmaster's reaction. If he had blinked he would have missed the twitch in Dumbledore's mouth, but he caught it. After a short pause he relayed the details of the conversation he had had with Gryffindor.

"He told me I would know who to come to for all the answers…and to ask about the trees," once again Harry was bewildered by this.

Dumbledore stared hard at Harry for a few moments, his eyes not flickering or moving. Abruptly he stood up and walked over to the large window that overlooked the Hogwarts grounds.

"Gryffindor was a very great wizard, Harry….very powerful and extremely wise. He told you that the good in you has dominated, and he is correct. You must _always_ remember that, Harry, always," he said with sudden urgency, "…no matter what, you have chosen the right paths and _must_ stick to it."

He turned back to Harry, "Do you know much about the founders and their heirs?"

Harry shook his head.

"Helga Hufflepuff never had children, her husband was murdered by a group of dark wizards, and she never remarried. Rowena Ravenclaw had one child, a girl. Her bloodline was continued throughout time, though there were many attempts at the lives of her descendants. The line was continued, that is, until the time of Tom Riddle. He brutally murdered her every last living descendant, the line is cut…and there is now no living trace of Rowena Ravenclaw."

Dumbledore shook his head sadly.

"This means Slytherin and Gryffindor's heirs are the only surviving remnants of the founders. Riddle, as you know, is Slytherin's heir from his mother's side. Gryffindor's, however, is a matter of some…confusion. He had one child, a son. The bloodline was continued throughout time, until recently. Every wizard in Gryffindor's line has been completely pureblood throughout…but the current is not. And so Gryffindor's line has been…somewhat cut in half.

"You must understand something, Harry. Every generation of Gryffindor and Slytherin has followed their ancestor's beliefs, and they have fought fiercely with each other…but neither has managed to cut the line of the other. Now, let me show you something."

He rose and walked in front of the desk, drawing his wand and pointing it in the empty air. Harry began to get a fluttering sensation in his gut, and ignored the nausea that was passing over him.

Dumbledore flicked his wand a couple of times and shouted an incantation Harry didn't recognise:

"_Acclaro prosapia cognatus, Gryffindor!"_

Lines appeared everywhere; they shot up to the ceiling and stopped just at Harry's eye level. At the top was the name: _Godric Gryffindor._

A line appeared under this name, and under that line another name appeared, _Leo Gryffindor._

Names began to form in a similar way, though Harry noticed that the name _Gryffindor_ changed a few times down the line, and also that the name of the non-blood relative, for example, Gryffindor's wife, did not appear.

The family tree grew.


End file.
